Brotherhood
by Elchikaah Haly
Summary: How was the life of three brothers before they joined a band of mercenaries? This is the backstory of Oscar, Boyd and Rolf. I'm French, so please don't bite me! Also, original title, I know, and my first FE story ever...
1. The little Family

_Hey, this is Elchikaah Haly, an old Frenchie author. This is my first try as a Fire Emblem fan fic, and my second REAL attempt at a serious fic in ENGLISH. My English isn't too great, but I'm trying my best! This story will center on the three brothers from FE9 and FE10, Oscar, Boyd and Rolf. I'm sorry for making Boyd kinda OOC, but since he's a kid in almost all the story… Well he's still kinda a bully to Rolf and his stepmother, but anyway…_

_I tried to gather the most of canon information about their back story from the games themselves, but so many things have never been mentioned, so I took opportunities to use freedom for some stuff._

_Before I upset fangirls, you probably know Oscar will eventually meet Kieran. There will be __**no**__ Yaoi between these two, only friendship (though that couple is my favorite one). _:p_ Just telling before someone might get disappointed...  
_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Fire Emblem and its characters. Intelligent Systems and Nintendo own them._

**Chapter 1 : The little family**

Oscar watched the sky as the great circle of light disappeared in the horizon. A radiant smile was forming on his lips. He knew what that meant: the return of his father after a long journey with his master. When all the stars will take place on the eventual black ceiling that was the sky, he will finally be able to feel the joy of having the whole family together again.

As soon as the sun was not visible anymore, the child returned to his work. He was sewing a new pair of pants for himself. These last days, his mother had taught him how to sew since it was a lot cheaper to make his own clothes. He took some fun to give them their final touch and when he was done, he got up from his chair and ran toward the dining room where his mother was, sitting comfortably on her grand chair.

"Mom!" little Oscar exclaimed while holding out his new creation. "Look what I did! New pants!"

The mother threw a passive glare at him and there was a short silence. Bottle in her hand, she turned her head toward the wall, without a word.

"Mom!" the child insisted for an answer. "Come on, check it out! It's nice, huh?"

The woman drank another shot.

"Mom…?"

"What?"

The child could feel a sudden chill in his whole body. The voice of his mother was as cold as the snow. The boy shyly moved forwards her, with his head lowered in shame, and he showed her his new pants, but the mother still stared at the wall. Finally he murmured: "How do you find m…"

"Yeah, yeah, they are nice…" she interrupted him.

Her eyes were still pointed toward the emptiness. Small tears were flowing through Oscar's squinty eyes. He wanted to show her how much he was able to succeed with his responsibilities at home. All he wished was to please her. After all, she was the one who taught him how to read, to write, to cook, to sew… well, pretty much everything he knew, since his father was always absent because of his job, but he still felt a more familiar affection toward him. As he returned to his room, the mother looked at his direction, laughed a bit then took another mouthful of drink.

Oscar was crying on his bed. At least his pillow and his cover were offering him a bit of a welcoming warmth to slowly make his sadness fade away, and to reassure himself, he was telling that his father would be back soon. And as he was going to sink into the depth of fun dreams, he heard a knock from the entrance door. Getting up quickly, he threw himself on the floor and ran toward the great door with a huge smile. He opened it and looked above him.

"Dad! You're back!" the child exclaimed in joyful tears.

"Oscar! My son!" the great man replied while opening his arms to take his excited son. He was exhausted from the trip, but he was happy to see his child again. "I missed you a lot, you know? So, tell me about your week!" The man put his son back on the floor and the boy waddled cheerfully.

"Mom taught me how to sew! You want to see the pants I created?"

"Of course, son!" But the man took a more serious look when he noticed his wife was not here for the meeting. "Wait, where is your mother?" the father asked, slightly offended by her absence.

"Hummm…" Oscar muttered, hesitating to answer. "She's drinking again…"

The man let out an exasperated sigh. "I told her to stop that… It will only deteriorate her condition and the baby's one…" He ran toward the dining room, and the child followed him. "Manissa? Are you here?" the man called. He found his wife, still on her chair, but her bottle had been disposed on the table and it was empty. The wife, Manissa, stared at him with her dark orbits, her mouth slightly opened.

"Huh?" she simply said. "Nova, you're back…"

There was a sudden scream coming from her while her arms were closely holding her big belly. Oscar and Nova, the father, jumped from the astonishment. Manissa fell on the floor, rolling horribly on herself and crying from a huge pain. Oscar stuck himself on his father, fearing to even look at his mother suffering that much. "Dad! What's happening to mom? Why is she suffering?" the worried boy asked.

The man nervously replied while forcing the child to turn himself: "Oh dear Ashera… Oscar, return to your room… You are going to have a new sibling… Don't look; it won't help your mother…"

The child whined another time, but he obeyed his father. He wanted to help the man in this situation, seeing how much he was trembling from all his members. He never saw him that disrupted.

He stayed in his room for few hours, confused of the situation, unable to sleep despite being morning soon. Everything had been so sudden: the comeback of his father, the delivery made by his mother, the eventual birth of a new family member. He felt a little sorrow hearing all the yells from the other room, but as soon he heard the cry of the newcomer, he couldn't contain the joy of having a new companion to play with. Was it a boy? Was it a girl? How will they name him, or her? He rushed to find an old multiple tales book he got as a gift from his father's master. He quickly skimmed through the pages and randomly pointed somewhere on the papers. He found two interesting names on that page: Boyd and Anna. He remembered that tale. Boyd was a mercenary who liked adventures. He found himself in a circumstance where he had to save a beautiful knight named Anna, his superior. Oscar couldn't keep rising up his lips. "Well, dad promised me I can name the baby!" he told himself, all excited. "If it's a girl, she'll be Anna, and if it's a boy, he'll be Boyd!"

He returned to the dining room but he could only find a mix of blood and fluid on the floor, which made him feel a bit sick. His mother and father weren't there anymore, so he decided to follow the noise made by the newborn. He found his family in their room, where his mother was deeply sleeping. Poor girl, he thought. She must be tired. His father, sitting beside his wife on the bed, took notice of the child and showed him a warm smile. He was holding a lamenting little red ball. Oscar approached them slowly and bended his head over the little baby. "Look Oscar! Say Hi to your little brother!"

The boy could only answer with a simple: "W...wow…" He softly stroked the newcomer's hairs. But soon, he noticed how his mother looked sicker than peaceful. He stopped smiling. "How's mom?"

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. She'll probably wake up soon."

There was a moment of silence, and seeing how worried his older son was, Nova gently patted on his head. "Oscar, I did not forget the promise I made. You can give the name you wish for your brother."

Oscar's fear quickly became happiness. "I thought of calling him Boyd! It comes from a tale in the book your master gave me!"

Nova nodded. "Boyd. It sounds nice to my ears. His name will be Boyd then!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Nova was quite a handsome and optimistic man, pleased to have a beautiful little family. He was a great guard and servant of a rich man of their town who himself was a renowned dark arcsage for keeping the town safe from evil bandits. The father was always working hard to feed his kin and to make his children grow up for the better, but unfortunately, his wife, Manissa, always wasted all the gain he acquired.

Manissa used the love given by Nova to lead an easy and comfortable life, but she wasn't quite satisfied with her state, not to mention she was originally a friend of her husband's previous wife.

Few years earlier, even before Oscar was born, Nova was married to a young woman by the name of Eryl. Both of them were part of the Crimean Knights in the same regiment where they met. From times to times, the army was driving back few small forces of Daein, the eastern neighbor country of Crimea, at their frontier, since relations between the two countries were never friendly. Fortunately, there was never a great war.

But one day, Eryl got pregnant, and as soon as she discovered her condition, she got a discharge from her superior to leave the army temporarily. She returned to her native town, Nabu, a town quite a bit far to the west of the capital Melior. She settled in her parents' house where her mother was still living. Soon after, her old childhood friend, Manissa, a kind of irresponsible woman, asked her if she could live with her and her mother, since she got nothing left. Eryl accepted with bitterness, but she was still her old friend, so she couldn't refuse.

Eryl's mother died shortly after, but it was the wished she always hoped since the death of her husband, so her death was quite peaceful. Following the fairly sad event, Eryl gave birth to a gorgeous green haired boy she named Oscar since it was the name of her great-grandfather she had the chance to know. Both she and Manissa gladly took care of the child with love until Eryl decided to return to the army, after the first month of her son, thinking she could trust her friend to take care of him.

Sadly, Manissa was simply capable of playing the child minder because Eryl did it with her. Now that she was gone, taking care of the child alone was very difficult, and she even began to hate him. Things got worse when she placed him under the straight sun without noticing and he became blind for a while because of the intense light. Luckily, he could see again after a while, but his eyes became sensible to light, his eyelids were almost practically closed permanently. Manissa felt a little bad for his condition, but she just told herself that it wasn't her own son anyway.

Eryl returned to her husband in the army, although she was killed not long after in a battle, right in front of her horrified man. Nova couldn't take that lost anymore, so he resigned himself to rejoin the son he never met and the friend of his late wife.

Manissa wasn't very cheerful to learn that her friend died while she was with her husband, and she accused him of killing her, indirectly. The man decided to not say anything against her attacking words and he took all the blame. He found a new simple job to gain money for her and for his son, since the military life wasn't appealing anymore. With some time, he began to give some affection for that woman, eventually resulting of another child. Manissa actually never loved him as much as she never loved Oscar, even though he was a fairly intelligent kid, but even so, she could at least take advantage of the material goods Nova provided her.

Weirdly, the man never questioned about the eternal squint of his son, luckily for the woman, as he always thought it was a birth defect. While the truth could be easily hidden, Manissa was not a good liar. Fortunately for her, she was smart enough to not make the same mistake again with her own son.

OuOuOuOuOuOuOuOuOuO

Their mother had been gone for some commissions that day, and Oscar was calmly playing with his little brother in their room. He delicately threw a big but light ball. "Here, catch, Boyd!" The little boy backed away of one step but he awkwardly fell on the floor. The ball pounced on his head but Boyd laughed. "Heh, at least you are making progress!" Oscar remarked him with a proud smile on his face.

Boyd picked up the ball, but as he was going to throw it, there was a noise at the entrance door, and then there were voices. Oscar recognized his mother, but he could hear a new voice he didn't know: it was from another man. Curiously, he left Boyd alone for a moment and ran toward the door. It was really his mother… kissing a stranger. As soon as the woman noticed her squinting son, she gently threw away her new charming prince and she became red as an apple. She glared for an instant at the boy and she turned away from him to stick herself with the man again with an unenthusiastic smile. "Oh, I forgot to tell you…" the woman began. "This is my son Oscar."

The man, who appeared to be a rich individual, observed the child for a moment. "Hum, with those closed eyes, I thought he couldn't even notice me!" he joked. But Oscar didn't find it funny. He could feel anger, the anger to see his mom with another, the anger to see the other being so disrespectful, all while his father was gone.

"Aw, don't be so hard on him!" Manissa defended, to Oscar's surprise. Even so she still had that mocking smile. "You know, in spite of his appearance, this child is actually very bright. He just squints all the time because his eyes are sensible to light, nothing more." She turned to her kid. "Then, Oscar, say hi to this man!"

The boy made the irritation gone from his face, but he still kept certain bitterness toward the man. "H... Hi… Mister. Pleased to meet you…" His voice was weak and awkward by the fear of his mother.

After Oscar finished his misleading words emptied from all positive emotion, Boyd slowly came along in the scene. Oscar could see a little fear on his small face. The little boy walked toward his big brother while keeping his eyes on his mother. "Mom?" the scrawny child timidly said.

Slight irritation showed on Manissa. She didn't want to see her two children in that present time. "Oh, and this is my second one…" she revealed to her man with some repugnance. Luckily for her, the man unexpectedly burst out laughing, which made the two kids jumped out of surprise.

"Two?" the man exclaimed. "Whatever, it doesn't matter to me!" Then he lowered his voice and Manissa lend her ear to him. "We will only go together to your humble room…"

The woman whispered in return. "Oh, I was thinking the same thing. Just don't pay attention to these two. As long as I order them, they will not bother us."

But Oscar heard everything. Manissa took the man by his arm and dragged him cheerfully to her room as she closed and locked her door. The two children looked at their direction without saying anything. The eldest brother hugged the younger one and he could only let out a shameful "Mom…" from his lips.

OtOtOtOtOtOtOtOtOtOtO

"I'm sorry, Manissa, but this is an important matter. My master insists that I accompany him in this three days travel. I hope you won't miss me too much!"

The woman shed few fake tears and nervously stroked her husband's hairs. "Oh sniff…" she whined. "My dear Nova, good luck and take care of yourself!" She displayed a weak sympathy smile then managed to give him a kiss.

After, the father turned to his son. "Oh, and you too, Oscar! Help your mother to take care of the house and Boyd! He will probably need you!"

The boy threw himself on his father. There was some panic on the kid, and Nova noticed it, but he thought it was only a simple fear of missing his daddy for the three next days. "Please" the child begged. "Don't go for too long! Come back quick, okay?"

Nova kindly patted on his head. "I'll do my best, son. Just listen to your mother and everything will be fine!" He moved away to the door and he sent them a hand. "Well, later, my little family!"

There were only few minutes after the departure, Oscar was minding his own business then he heard some frantic noises coming from his parents' room. He decided to peek an eye inside and he found, to his shock, his mother packing her stuff in a bag. "Mom?"

Manissa turned around. "Oh! Yes, Oscar?"

"What are you doing?"

The woman positioned the last elements, clothes and money, in her bag. "I'm leaving, of course!"

The child sensed a sudden chilliness traveling through his heart by this revelation; nevertheless he tried to keep his cool to confront her. "You are going… all alone?"

A sigh could be heard from his mother's mouth. "Listen, boy, we are going to be rich if we go with that new man! I'm not going to miss this rare opportunity to live a better life!"

"B… But you will leave us?"

"Well, you have to come too! And your brother too!"

So the woman ran, with her bag in her hand, toward the children's room where Boyd was serenely sleeping. Oscar followed her, dread flowing through his veins. "What about dad?"

At this question, the woman stopped walking. She began to laugh maniacally. "Nova… Your dad? Come on! He's never home! How does it matter? Leave him!"

After these words, she harshly grabbed Boyd by his hands, brutally waking him up from his deep sleep. The little boy had the shock of his life. "Mom?" he managed to say before being wildly dragged by his mother. He began to cry from the stun and the pain, which truly angered the older brother.

"MOM!" Oscar yelled. Now he wasn't afraid of her anymore. "Stop it! You are hurting Boyd!"

Manissa stopped. She was being confronted by her stepson yelling at her and she let go off Boyd in the process. The confused and crying small child hurried to his big brother who tenderly took him in his arms. Oscar gently stroked the little one's head. "Don't cry, Boyd…" he reassured with such soft and calm voice. "Everything will be okay, I promise…"

The mother could feel an impulsive temper in front of this scene. She screamed. "Oscar! How dare you defy your mother? Why do you want to stay with your 'good for nothing' father?"

The child started to shiver, but kept his calm. "Dad… loves us… You don't…"

"Ah! That's it? Fine! Rot here with your useless father, but I'm taking Boyd with me!" And then, she grabbed the little boy from the older one's arms and she brutally dragged him with her once more. Boyd cried, hurt by his mom's strong hands, and anger consumed the older brother again.

"Leave Boyd alone!" Oscar ordered, though he knew his mother won't listen obviously. "You won't get anywhere with him!" Furiously, he used his foot to kick her in the legs, and she lost hold of the little one. She barked in pain while weeping Boyd returned to his brother. The woman expressively exploded.

"DAMN YOU BOY!" the mother bawled in a fury. "You're going to pay for this!" After this last statement, she lifted up her fist and filled it with all of her energy to violently strike the older child on his face. He got thrown off on the floor, always holding his whining little brother in his arms. Terror taking over the little one, Boyd stopped crying and did not dare to look at his mother again. Oscar let go off the little brother by an arm to rub his agonizing face with his shaking hand. There was blood on his lips and his nose.

Manissa got up straight, looking proudly of her shot but also slightly ashamed, always with her fist firmly ready for another attack. Her heart was beating madly; she fixed her two kids with her mind filled with horror, the horror of knowing what she can do to a child who was not really hers. Now, she realized she will never be able to gain their trust after what she had done. But she will not admit her shame.

Keeping her head up, she said with a calm and cold tone: "Hmph! That's what you get for defying your mother. Go to hell…" She took her bag and she left the house once for all, leaving the two children in their unsure fate.

An unusual long silent moment reigned at home. Boyd remained quiet; Oscar softly stroked his brother's hairs muttering few optimistic but sad words. Then he cried.

* * *

_Ahhh! I feel this is a boring chapter! I mean, no fantasy yet, no in-game details, and too much drama! Next chapter Boyd will be older (well Oscar too), and the little family will be happier. Yay, less drama, more cuteness! And Rolf will magically appear! Yay! No Kieran yet, but he will come… someday…Yeah I made Boyd's mom evil… I'm so evil_ D:_ Also… WTF? Three different mothers? Well it was indeed mentioned in an official FAQ that the three brothers are supposed to have all different mothers, but the same father (he must have been a pimp _O.O_ )._

_About Oscar's squint, I totally know that's just some kind of anime design to make him look wise (which he is). I just tried to explain his condition to make it more **dramatic**... Bwaaaaah..._

_How do you find it for now? Fun? Boring? Sad? Poorly written? Please review! _:3_ And thank you for reading! _


	2. New Life

_Yay! The evil mom is gone! Now Oscar must raise Boyd while the Daddy is gone! _O.o _And notice how I suck at naming chapters. _

_Now for some answers (so people who didn't review can see it XD ) People wonder where I found out about the three brothers having all different mothers. It's on this site: serenesforest(dot)net (check their forum and the PoR section. You'll see a FAQ). Before anyone say it's not official, they translate it from the official Japanese FAQs site for this game, so... yes! _:D_ Thanks to all who read this fic!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Fire Emblem and its characters. Intelligent Systems and Nintendo own them._

**Chapter 2 : New life**

Next night, Nova slowly opened the door, with a big smile on his face. "Hey there, kiddos! I'm here and back, all well!" he called in, relieved to come back so soon. Only there was no answer, but he kept his joy. He gradually closed the door behind him and he ventured in the house with little steps in case his kids were sleeping. "I convinced my master to choose someone else for the job and…"

Reaching the kitchen, he found his two sons, looking down. Oscar was not facing him as he was concocting a soup. Boyd was standing by his side, and by small shots, he impatiently pulled down his big brother's shirt to tell him how hungry he was. The smaller boy noticed the sounds the footsteps his father did and turned to him. He widely opened his eyes, shocked to see him so soon. "Daddy?" he managed to pull out with an innocent tone.

After these words, Oscar threw his squinty eyes on his little brother then turned to his father's direction without saying anything.

"Oh my Goddess…" the father muttered. In front of him was a very sad sight. His oldest son had a whole blue part on his face, some visible trace of blood and an expression of total misery. Nova ran after his child and took him nervously, holding firmly the sides of his face between his hands while trying to avoid his wounded part. The boy began to shed some small tears. "Oscar, what happened to you?"

Oscar sniffed out a shot and then quickly explained in a whining way: "M… Mom… She hurt m… me…"

"_Oh no…_" the father thought. "_Manissa, why did you?_" It was at this very moment he regretted going away despite being a duty. Getting on his knees, he firmly placed his hands on his son's shoulder and he shook him gently. He wanted to speak with that woman. "Where is she?" he sturdily asked. "Where is your mother?"

"I don't know… She went... with another man…"

After this surprising revelation, Nova's blood turned as cold as ice. It was as if all his life was thrown away for the worst in one little sentence. He couldn't move for a moment, suddenly ignoring his son's sobs.

"Dad…" Oscar moaned, seeing the distress on his father, but unable to say a word to reassure him, or to reassure himself.

Nova stood up slowly, his eyelids half opened, and then he walked away to his room with his head lowered in sorrow and his fists filled with anger. The eldest boy looked at him walking away while wiping his last tears, still as mute as a statue, until his little brother broke the silence. "Oscar, I'm hungry!"

Even though the situation was a little uncomfortable and gloomy, Oscar couldn't help but smile in front of this simple remark from his little brother. "Don't worry, Boyd. The supper will be ready soon." The small boy let out a cry of joy.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

As the time passed, things went better little by little. Nova, even with the empty feelings he had from his wife's departure, continued his hard work to pay the goods for his two only family members left. While gradually becoming weaker, the love he felt for Manissa was always present, but the friendship he shared with his kids was irreplaceable and stronger. All went well: Boyd grew up, eventually forgetting his cursed mother; Oscar took all the pleasure to take care of the responsibilities at home during his father absence. Nova cheered up himself by thinking his family had now more money since his wife was gone; there was no one to make more useless spending and one less person to feed.

The months moved forward peacefully, until the day Nova received a letter from the sister of his old wife. She informed him that Manissa had been killed by some raven "sub-humans" while she was travelling with her new man on the sea. He could also read the reason she sent this letter was because she didn't really like her sister and that Nova might be glad to hear about the death of the wife who abandoned her family. But he wasn't, he was still devastated.

Never the two children learned about the death of their mother, and it might have been better that way, since years went prosperous and flourishing for them.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"So Boyd, tell me, how many fingers do you have on your hand?"

"Hum… let me see…" Boyd pulled forward one of his hands and pointed each of his fingers with the other hand, counting them. "One, two, t… three, four, f… five! I have five fingers! Like you!"

Oscar showed him a proud smile. He took those last weeks to teach his little brother how to count, to read and to write everything he knew, and Boyd learned pretty fast. "Good! Now tell me how old you are!"

The youngest already knew the answer. He immediately answered: "I'm five! I'm old, no?"

A weak laugh could be heard from the oldest. "Of course you are!" he gently replied. "And do you know how old I am?"

The young brother lowered his head a bit and scratched his hairs. "Hum… Hum… I don't know…"

The old brother brought closer his two hands while extending his ten fingers. "See, that's a bit more than this."

"Oh!" Sure of himself, Boyd counted each of the fingers silently, and then he answered: "Eleven? Twelve?"

"Eleven is correct!" Oscar gave him a small stroke on his back to compliment his improvement, and Boyd just rose up his head pompously. "Nice! You are learning very fast, you know?"

"Yay! I'm the best!" the youngest exclaimed with some arrogance, but it made the older brother happier.

Soon someone knocked on the door. The two brothers ran after the sound, excited, knowing it was their father. Never had they known there was a surprise behind that door. When they opened it, they discovered… a young woman. Of course Nova was there too, but both of the boys didn't expect to see him with another person. Oscar noticed the huge smile on his father's face; he instantly knew the woman was his new love. Boyd, on the other hand, didn't seem very pleased. "Good day, kids!" greeted their father with a joyful tone. "I want to introduce you to a very good friend of mine! You can come in, Mina!"

The timid young woman walked in slowly inside. A small smile formed on her radiant expression. "Oh…" she began weakly. "Hello to both of you, Oscar and Boyd! You father told me a lot about you, and I'm so glad to meet you!"

Being as shy as the young woman, Oscar sent her the same smile. "Nice to meet you too, Mina!"

"You must be Oscar, the oldest." she assumed. "I heard your cooking is marvelous! You must be skilled for your age! I can't wait to taste your specialities soon!" Oscar scratched his head, slightly embarrassed; he wasn't used to compliments. Mina turned to Boyd, but noticing the menacing glare he threw at her, she had hard time to keep her lips up. She tried to maintain her happy aspect even so. "And you, you must be Boyd, the youngest! Pleased to meet you, little boy!"

But as she began to gently stroke on the small boy's hairs, he suddenly grabbed her hand and threw it away harshly, forcing the woman to step away from him. Now she was confused. Stunned and a bit mad, the big brother strongly put his hand on his brother's shoulder and gave him a strict sight while Nova looked at the floor in shame; maybe it wasn't a good idea to bring his new woman in the life of his two kids now.

Boyd, seeing the severe attitude his brother threw at him, turned his head in the opposite direction of everyone. He closed his eye. "Boyd!" Oscar shouted furiously at him. "What's the matter? Mina is our guest!"

The younger brother, without even turning his head back and faking sympathy toward the woman, finally said: "Hi, Mina…"

Shameful of the circumstances, Nova softly pulled Mina's arm and took her near himself. He approached his head near his woman's ears to whisper: "Don't worry about him… He's just not used to see women at home. Oscar told him how evil was their late mother and since that day, Boyd thinks all women are evil…"

Mina let out a small sigh, but she reformed a smile again. "I understand." she admitted. "I hope I can change this situation, eventually."

Nova's look became proud again and he turned to his two sons. "Kids, be nice with her. She's my new friend and she is willing to help us while I'm not home."

The oldest brother seemed to be pleased by the new. At last he could now have more free time in his hands with an adult at home. "Wow, that's nice!" he exclaimed, delighted.

The younger brother kept his head lowered and, with a displeasing tone, he groaned: "Yeah…"

XxXxXxXxXxXx

In the next morning, Nova had to go for few days, leaving his new girlfriend with his two children. Later, Mina was humming a little song while she was hanging few cleaned clothes on a rope, leaving them under the morning lights. Oscar rubbed his eyes after a long sleep and noticed from the window the new woman with her duty. Boyd followed behind him, soften as much as his brother by the sleep. He saw him running after the door to join the woman to help her pinning all garments. Refusing to hang around that woman, Boyd just kept staring at them from the door, keeping a small hated eye.

The frustration of the kid made him lost in his thoughts where he was thinking of a plan about how he would make her go away from the house. Soon, Mina came back at home and noticed Boyd's presence at the door. She tried a smile for him. "Good morning, Boyd!" she greeted gently, but the child remained silent. Disappointed, she continued her way.

Oscar reached for his brother, looking pretty deceived. Boyd felt responsible for this attitude and he withdrew on himself in shame. "Boyd…" the big brother began with a calm but discouraged tone. "Why are you so angry?"

Boyd didn't say anything.

"Is it because of Mina?"

"Yeah, I don't like her…" the younger one finally replied, with a grouchy voice.

The elder brother let out a long sigh then he severely said: "Ah! Come on! You don't even know her! How can you hate her already?" With these words, Boyd pointed his eyes on the floor, not daring to say anything else. Oscar continued: "Look, Dad is always at work, and now, this woman is ready to lend him a hand to help us! Don't you think it's already a very noble gesture from her?"

Boyd kept a certain silence then he broke it. "Well… she's a girl…" he simply said, playing his innocence, but the old brother wasn't naïve, he held his strict position.

"Boyd, how many times do I have to tell you? Mom was an evil person! But that was Mom only! There are tons of girls in this world, and this isn't all the girls who are like her!" He took a small break then he continued more calmly: "And Mina isn't certainly like Mom…"

Suddenly the little boy began to sniff (1). His voice was becoming more halting. "I… I know…" Boyd moaned. "B… But she is so new… I don't know if we can trust her…"

Seeing the confusion on his little brother, Oscar took the more serene aspect that made him his proper being, and then he slowly put his hand on the youngest one's shoulder. Boyd rose up his head and stopped crying. "I understand, little brother." Oscar reassured with a thin smile. "But try to give her a chance, okay? Please, at least, do it for Dad! He really loves her, I can tell!"

Weeping his last visible tears on his face, Boyd got up and finally took a more radiant look. "Hum… I'll try!" he proudly said.

In her hidden little spot, Mina listened to the scene. Relieved, she rose her lips.

Not much after, in the afternoon, the two brothers were playing at hide-and-seek in the forest behind their house, trying to forget the unfortunate incident from the morning. Boyd dived inside a deep trunk hollow, thinking he could hide away from the sight of his big brother. After the count, he could hear him calling his name so that way, Boyd would answer and he would be found more easily. He tried to keep his mouth shut to not fall for this again as he did in the past games.

He was lowly laughing to himself until a sudden beast was hanging straight before him. Boyd jumped from the total panic and he yelled the name of his brother; he was scared of wild animals. The yelling of the child made the beast going all furious then it forced itself to attack the poor boy.

Nervously, Oscar pricked up his ears to find out where the yelling came from. He ran through all the long herbs and the majestic trees. He finally found his brother, attacked by a wolf. In an immediate gesture, the oldest one took a heavy stick and began to strike the animal. Injured, the wolf threw out a long groan then it decided to let the boy go and it finally fled.

Thankful but agitated, Oscar examined his crying brother. "Boyd…" he began to lowly moan with fear. "What happened? I'm sorry… everything went so quick!" The younger one remained mute and he continued to wipe out his tears of pain. Oscar discovered a horrible bite on Boyd's right leg.

"Brother! It… It hurts!" Boyd complained while diving even deeper in the hollow. It was at this moment he could feel a fluffy thing constantly rubbing him from behind. The two brothers turned to the mysterious soft thing: it was the tail of a little wolf hidden inside the trunk. The baby animal let out few lamenting cries and some innocent growls.

"A baby wolf…" Oscar said while cleaning out all the blood he could flowing from his brother's leg. "Boyd, you hid in the den of a wolf…" He took off his tunic and surrounded the injured leg with it, trying to do it not too tightly, which comforted Boyd a bit. He took him on his back and he quickly ran home with him.

Enthusiastic of her new home, Mina was preparing the food with a humming ballad. She hoped the meal would finally convince the son of her new man that she wasn't that bad as a woman. "Boyd doesn't seem to like me, but his older brother is a totally different story. They seem so different, yet they seem very close. Those are wonderful children. I really wish I could be a parent too…"

She was lost in her thoughts until she heard the cry of a boy. She dashed to the backyard and, shocked, she found an exhausted Oscar carrying an injured Boyd with tears filling his reddened eyes. She immediately rushed in terror "Oh no, Boyd!" she cried, hands on her lips, absolutely horrified. Truthfully, she didn't really know how to deal with this situation. "What happened?"

Oscar slowly dropped his little brother on the ground and he ordered: "Mina! Go get me some water! We have to clean his injury!" Obeying, Mina quietly nodded, and then she ran to the house to get a seal of water. During her quick track, she slightly felt relieved to see that the older kid seemed to know what to do, that way she didn't have to stay back there panicking and doing nothing to help the situation. She took a large cup and plunged it into the seal, taking a whole cup of water. She came back to the two kids and she kneeled beside them.

"Oh Goddess, what do I have to do?" she exclaimed, worried and stunned of the circumstance. She hated to see blood; it always made her sick in the heart.

"You only have to pour the water slowly on the injury!" Oscar answered while he undid the knot he improvised around the leg. Mina could see that, despite the calm the oldest one tried to keep, he was pretty nervous. When the woman began to softly pour the water on the wound, Boyd growled a sharp noise while Oscar cleaned the blood with the shirt he just took off from himself. Few instants later, Boyd took out a great sigh: he felt a little better. "Say, Mina, can you give me your scarf?" Oscar asked her. "I need a clean dry cloth to cover his injury!"

Mina instantly obeyed and took off her scarf to give it to him. While the older brother tightened the cloth around the leg, Mina looked at the younger boy. Boyd had his eyes fixed on her, tears still visible on his face. "I hope you are getting better, Boyd…" she told him kindly with a weak smile while stroking his head. "I know you're a strong boy!" And then Boyd finally gave her a real smile.

"Thanks, Mina" he told her, silently.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Tell me, Mina, how did you and Daddy meet?"

"Ah well…" the young woman sighed. "During one of his travels with his master, he found me on the road… I didn't have any money or anything, so his master took me in his manor to give me a job. I worked there for a while and we got closer that way."

"Wow! How so you didn't have anything?"

"Well… my parents weren't too caring, so I fled home, but I didn't know what to do outside home, so your Daddy taught me how to work."

"Not caring parents? Like Mom?"

"Your Mom?"

"Oscar told me Mom was evil."

"Really? How so?"

Oscar was preparing the supper with Mina. She was cutting vegetables, the boy was mixing all the spices and flavors in the soup and Boyd, sitting comfortably on his chair, was friendly discussing with the woman. Since few days, the relation between the two guys and the new woman improved a lot. It made Oscar very happy: his father, when he will be back this evening, would be very proud of them. There was still a slight fear in him because of the wound his brother got from the other day as it wasn't fully recovered. He was thinking how his father would react while dealing with that injury.

And that was what he was about to know in an instant.

Nova entered home with his usual word of salutation. Mina ran to the door alone to welcome him while the two kids stayed in their business. "Oscar, do you think Dad will be angry because of my wound?" Boyd asked, who clearly was thinking about the same thing as his older brother.

Oscar answered with a modest smile. "I don't think so. It was an accident after all…"

The father went to the small kitchen to find his children. He was going to salute them but he soon noticed the injury on his younger son. Boyd and Oscar stayed mute. Nova turned to Mina with an anxious look; she suddenly ceased to smile. "Mina… what happened to Boyd?" He was thinking. Was it really what would happen if he let his sons alone with her? Mina was scared; scared to have failed helping the man she loved so much.

The oldest brother decided to speak. "Dad, it's my fault. I'm the one who left Boyd alone in the forest. We… We were playing at hide-and-seek, and there was that evil wolf… It attacked Boyd before I could find him." Nova pointed his severe eyes at him, but before he could even say anything, Oscar continued. "I made the wolf go away, but Boyd had already been injured. With the help of Mina, we succeeded to heal him!"

Nova didn't know what to say. He was exhausted from the travel and truthfully, he didn't want to give them morals as he would usually do after a mistake. The most important thing right now was "all is well". He rose up his lips and he gently told them: "Well, don't go to the forest too far anymore, you know it's too dangerous…"

"Yes, we promised!" Boyd replied, relieved by his father's calm reaction. But Oscar knew too well the only reason he didn't say anything harsh was because he was too tired. He still felt guilty in his heart.

"Good…" Nova continued. "It seems that all of you have been great together since I was gone. I'm so glad… Thank you…"

All the family was happy.

* * *

_I decided to end this chapter here because it was getting awfully long. Wait… no Rolf? NOOOO! We want Rolf! Maybe… later… So what's next for our happy little family? Wait. Mina's here… A new woman at home… Maybe… A NEW BROTHER! MOUHAHAHAHA!! I knew it! And... Ahhhh I feel like this chapter has been rushed (well kinda). So how do you find it? By the way it will take a while before chapter 3 because it's my first week in college and I already got an awfully huge project, so... :(  
_

_(1) Oh my god. Boyd was crying like Rolf on this chapter. But don't get me wrong. I totally know he's an arrogant tough guy in the game. But he was 5 when he cried in this chapter. I'm pretty sure Boyd wasn't an arrogant tough guy at the age of 5 (I haven't seen much kids that way either), so yes, he's OOC, but that's due to his age!!_


	3. New Job

_A new mom! And Oscar will search for a new job! Yay! Mind that I have no idea how the social life works in the world of poor people in Fire Emblem (beside the fact they are poor, but that's it), so I guess I can mix the old times and the modern life, considering it could be anything (I mean, c'mon! There is even the Male/Female equality in the FE world while in the real medieval world there isn't _XD_ So please don't say: "But in the Medieval world, this isn't like this!" **FE isn't medieval**, darnit!! Thank you.)_

_**Note:** Huge special thanks to **EmbeRin **for her criticisms! Not only it helps me with my mistakes, but it encourages me to write more! _:D _You deserve a super cookie! _

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Fire Emblem and its characters. Intelligent Systems and Nintendo own them._

**Chapter 3 : New job**

Months went peacefully; Mina became a new member of their small family. Even if the two children didn't see her more than the wife of their father, they still liked her as much as a real friend. Now that she was always present to help the family, Oscar had more time to enjoy his youth and to have thoughts about his eventual future.

Of course! The future! He was asking himself… What could he possibly do later? He took a whole morning to reflect. Their town wasn't that small, so it could give him tons of jobs opportunity.

What if he became a woodcutter? It seemed to be a popular job. But cutting trees wasn't too appealing to him and it sounded too dangerous for nothing for a job. His father once told him the importance of the faun and the forest, so it's unlikely he would become a woodcutter. What about a field laborer? It was another popular job, it seemed. But he felt he was too young to be one, since people have to be well-build to become one. Servant for a noble house like his father? Serving a "superior" individual didn't seem right to him; it would make himself feel inferior while having no fame. And again, he was too young for it. And what if he became a cook for a tavern? His stepmother never ceased to tell him how excellent he was with the cooking. While he absolutely loved to cook, he really didn't think that a place would take him in, again because of his youth.

But he really wanted a job. Since a while, money came a bit too much slowly in the family and his father was still working non-stop. Oscar wanted to help him ease his soul so he could feel better.

While he was preparing dinner with Mina like he did everyday, Boyd came all excited and asked them: "What are we going to eat this time?"

"Vegetable soup, Boyd." the older answered, trying to calm down the younger, and it actually worked. Boyd took a more serious look.

"Vegetable?" Boyd asked, apparently unhappy. "That's it?"

Mina entered the conversation; she didn't really look delighted. "That's all we can afford for now… You know, money doesn't grow in trees."

Boyd felt overcome and he said: "All right… I understand…" And to make the two cooks feel better, he added: "I'm sure your soup will be very good!"

Oscar and Mina replied back together with a smile: "Thanks, Boyd!"

After the dinner, while Mina washed dishes, Oscar came to her. "Mina… Can I ask you something?"

Mina stopped for a moment and she turned to him. "Of course, sweetie! What is it?"

"You know how Dad is working very hard, and I know he's tired and all… He always tries to hide it from us but it's quite evident…" Mina was surprised by that statement. No doubt she knew her husband was always tired of life, but to see her stepson discussing about it was unexpected. He added: "Do you think I can help him to gain more money?"

The woman was shocked. Working, at his age? Wasn't he a bit young? "What do you mean?" she asked as if she didn't understand.

"I mean… Do you think I should find a job?"

A subtle grimace appeared on her face, but Oscar noticed it. "You… finding a job?"

The boy kept his calm allure. "What is it? You don't like the idea?"

Mina pulled out a long sigh, and then she shyly declared: "That's because… you are still young… And also… how can you find a job with that handic…"

"… that handicap? My squint?" the old child finished the sentence for her. Mina nodded. In fact, Oscar always thought that his condition was normal, but deep inside him, he knew it wasn't. He affirmed: "Mina, Dad and I already told you… I can see fine. My eyes aren't fully closed, you know?"

Mina tried to defend herself. "Oh, I know that, sweetie! But I don't think others would think the same as you and me…"

But Oscar remained optimistic. "Bah, it doesn't cost anything to try, isn't it?" he said with a smile.

He was right, and the woman somewhat felt bad. "That's true!" she exclaimed. "Sorry, I've been so much pessimistic on you…"

"Don't worry about that. That's all in the past!"

VoVoVoVoVoVoVoVoVoVoVoV

The young teen was searching for the most beautiful clothes he had. He searched under his bed and found a complete suit given by his father's master few months ago. He wore it as quickly as possible, too much excited about going to hunt for a job. Boyd, sharing the same room as his brother, came in to get a children book about warriors, but he found the older one changing himself.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Boyd asked.

"Oh, Boyd!" Oscar greeted with his usual smile. "I'm going to find a job outside."

Boyd remembered the conversation his brother and his stepmother had earlier, but he wasn't really paying attention. "But why?" he bluntly asked. The idea of seeing his brother gone without him displeased him greatly.

"Well, that way, we'll have more money and we won't only have vegetables for dinner." the older brother gently answered. "We'll have more delicious meat!"

The younger jumped of joy. "Oh, meat! I like meat!"

Oscar gave him a small pat on his head. "I know. That's why I'm going."

Later, the boy walked around the busiest streets of the town to check out for some jobs offers. In fact, there weren't many. It seemed, that day, those busy streets weren't so crowded as usual. Maybe it was the dead season of business. Even his father told him that since a while, his pay wasn't as good because of some complicated economical situation he never really understood.

On his way, he found a small mass around a store. Curiously, he stared at it. He could see a female seller, offering nice vegetables. The boy looked at those presented products. When the woman finally noticed him after the crowd left the place, she began to speak to him. "Hi!" she simply saluted. "What can I do for you?"

Oscar rose up his head and looked into her eyes with a radiant smile. "Oh, I was checking your vegetables. They seem to be of a great and unique quality!"

The seller was surprised by the answer. How could the boy see with those eyes? "Well, thank you, boy." she thanked him with a monotone voice.

Obviously, the boy could see the woman didn't really appreciate the presence of children around her, but he tried to keep his calm. "You have a nice store too!" he complimented.

"Of course!" the seller exclaimed with a sudden proud expression. "My vegetable store is the best of Nabu town! Even Crimea in whole! All the best chefs come here for my beautiful vegetables!"

The boy slightly nodded. "I see" He gently coughed then he asked a little nervously: "Do you need someone to take care of your store?"

The woman made a face and let out a simple: "Huh?" Visibly that boy was searching for a job.

"I can help you!" the young teen added with too much enthusiasm.

"You, helping me…" There was a silence until the woman burst into a laugh. It startled the young teen. "Listen, boy. How can you see with those eyes? How will you notice if a thief decided to steal one of my vegetables? How can you even see if there is a customer?"

Those words could only enrage Oscar's conscience. It wasn't the first time someone insulted him that way, but he never appreciated it. He still stayed calm. "But…"

"Forget it, boy!" she interrupted him. "When you'll be able to open those eyes, maybe I'll reconsider your offer." After, she turned to the opposite direction and silently laughed a bit more.

Devastated, the boy turned away, muttering: "I see… I understand, I'll go…"

Shameful, he went in a dark alley, far away from other's views. He was thinking about his handicap. It was true he couldn't see too well, but he never really had problem because of it, as long as there wasn't too much of bright light. In this lonely dark corner, the light was weak. So he pointed his semi closed sight to the puddle below him. He tried to widen his eyes slowly, but even the frail light blinded him. He shut his eyes again in their accustomed state. He rubbed them to relieve himself from the slim pain he just suffered. Some passers saw him and they looked at him with a stunned look. Oscar ignored them. "Well, at least I tried…" he thought.

He continued his hunt for jobs. But each time was the same. Some pretended he was too young, some told him he was too blind, and some even mentioned the two reasons. Because of this, he began to find himself pitiful.

Until he found a bookstore selling novels and magic tomes.

When he entered, he was welcomed by a cold old man who looked quite in shape for his age. "Good day, kid." he grimly said. "How can I help you?"

Even though he was expecting the same thing to happen like all the previous meetings, Oscar kept his smile. "Greetings, Mister! I was walking around here to check out if you need someone to help you in your shop!"

"Are you searching for a job?"

"Well, yes…"

"I see. Do you know about tomes?"

The boy froze at the question, but he lied an answer. "Of course!"

"All right then. Tell me about magic tomes."

The silence reigned for a moment. Oscar already began to lose his cool. He thought he would fail again. Each time he discussed with employers, the beginnings were always the same, and this time wasn't an exception. Actually, he didn't know anything about magic tomes. He did hear about mages and sages in the past, like his father's master who was a dark archsage, but nothing else.

"Heh…" the old man mutely laughed. "Did someone get your tongue?"

The discouragement in the boy grew even more, and light sobs came to him. "I really need a job…" he moaned.

The man kept his severe look. "And why? You seem to be a bit young to work."

"I need a job to help my father, because he doesn't earn enough money…"

The old guy didn't seem to feel a slight sympathy toward the young boy. "Really? I know a lot of people in this town. Who is your father?"

"His name is Nova…"

Suddenly, blood froze up in the man's veins. _Nova_. He knew only one individual by that name. Now that he observed this kid carefully, he did bear some resemblance to the Nova he acknowledged. His cold look soon became a kindhearted compassion.

"Kid, tell me… Is your father a tall strong man with dark green hairs?"

"Yes, do you know him?"

The man stayed mute and afterward he replied: "A little." There was another silent moment, and then he asked: "Do you know someone named Eryl?"

Oscar was staggered by the unexpected question. "Eryl? No, I don't know anyone by that name."

The old man put his hand on his chin. He was lost in his thoughts. "_If this kid is really THAT Nova's son… Why doesn't he know about Eryl? Maybe he never told him about his late mother..."_ Finally, he spoke to the boy: "Is your house at the forest's border at the West of the town, on the Ibonem Street?"

The question surprised the boy. "Yes, how did you know?"

The man showed him a smile. "I told you I know your father. And beside, I'm psychic! Books and magic tomes clearly give you some weird powers!" He laughed a bit while thinking of his past.

"_This boy… He must be the grandson of my beloved Nadia… She had a daughter named Eryl who married herself to a certain Nova… Oh Nadia! You didn't want me, and you chose someone else… Why did you choose another? Because I was different?_"

"Huh, Mister?"

His trance was just interrupted by the boy. "Oh, yes, of course…" the man exclaimed. "You seem like a good boy… Maybe I can take you."

Oscar had never been so excited for a long time. He couldn't help but smile. "Really?" he asked. He thought he was dreaming.

"Do I look like I'm lying? Welcome in my shop!"

* * *

_My shortest chapter to date. Actually it was supposed to be one with chapter two, but it was 13-14 pages in Word, so I split in two. Oscar found a job! So what will he do in this new job? And when will he be a knight? __**And what about Rolf?**__ You'll see… someday! And… OMG! The first real important OC (I don't know if I can consider the brothers' parents OC, but… anyway… )! But don't worry. He will __**not**__ become the star of this story. This OC is exclusive for this fic, so he's not a super overpowered OC from my original stories. Ibonem Street? WTF is that name? A random name, actually _:p _Oh, and I'm sure Boyd likes meat. I mean, just look at him from PoR to RD. Only meat can give him that much muscles!!_ X.x _(beside steroids, but that's something else...)_

_Thanks for reading! _:D


	4. A Dream

_Oh crap. I'm so sorry for the long wait. College is killing me so much I even had to ask for days off from my job to finish my projects in time. Can you forgive me for what I have done? _D: _(blaargh I sound like Yune) Wait, I'm going to have a one week with no school soon so I'll try to be done with every projects on the first days of that week, then I hope I can continue the story after (and finish that FE pic for some contest on Deviantart)!_

_Again, I thank everyone for your awesome reviews and supports, and adding my story to the alert also makes me very happy (so **cookies** to all of you! _:D_ )! It keeps me going and it makes me practice my English even more!  
_

_Yup. Now that Oscar found a new job, now what? Oh, I kind of wrote some revisions for laguz and Tellius terms, so if you didn't pay attention to the game history, you'll learn a bit here _:p

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Fire Emblem and its characters. Intelligent Systems and Nintendo own them._

**Chapter 4 : A dream**

Mina was teaching Boyd some simple mathematical formulas, but boredom took the little boy fast. He didn't see the use of knowing numbers formulas. As soon as the stepmother was done for the day, Boyd ran at her to ask: "Mina, what's Oscar's new job?"

The woman sighed a moment. "I don't know, Boyd. How can I guess if he didn't even come back yet?"

"Oh well…" he moaned, simply. In fact, he was bored when his brother wasn't here with him, so he kept asking useless questions. It made Mina quite annoyed.

"Mina! Boyd! I did it!" Oscar suddenly entered the scene. "I found a job!"

Boyd ran after his older brother exclaiming "Wow! Really?" He stood up straight before him. He could see a huge smile. It was not uncommon to see Oscar with such a smile but he was able to distinguish a real smile from a fake one, and this time, it was indeed real. "That's so great, bro!"

Mina came along slowly in the scene. She seemed amazed. "Oh..." she exclaimed shyly. "This is… a neat surprise, indeed. What is your job?"

Oscar was all excited to tell them the following. "That's all simple! I have to help a mister named Hennesty Espera in his bookstore! He even sells magic tomes! He also told me he knows Dad!"

"Really?" Mina added, pleased to see her stepson so cheerful. "That is a great new! I'm sure your father will be pleased to know!"

"Oh, but I don't want to tell him now!" the young teen replied. "I want to make him a surprise later!"

The woman's cheerfulness slightly started to fade away for a reason unknown to him. "All right… So, when do you start?"

"Tomorrow!" Oscar answered with some joy. "I can't wait!" He turned to Boyd. "See? Now that we'll have extra money, we'll have meat for every meal!"

"Yay! I like meat!"

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Good morning, Mister Hennesty! I'm ready for the job!"

The old man had his severe expression, but he had a big smile on his face. "Great, Oscar! Here's what you need to do. While I'm busy with customers, you can clean the mess around the books. Place each books in alphabetical order by the name of the authors and replace every magic tome by their respective elements. Fire, Elfire and Arcfire go to this side. Wind, Elwind and Arcwind go together there. Thunder, Elthun-"

"Wait, please..." the confused boy interrupted. "I hope you don't mind if you-"

"…if I slow down?" the man continued with a laugh. "Of course! Sorry, I've been carried away by my explanations!" He took out a piece of paper from his pockets. Some indications and helpful directions were written on it. "Here, I wrote this guide last night to make it clearer. That way, you won't be too much puzzled by the work! Take your time to read it!"

Oscar grabbed the paper in his hands and peek a brief eye on it. He raised his glance at Hennesty. "Thanks, Mister!" With this, he went to the backstore while carefully reading the guidelines.

As he watched him disappear behind the bookshelves, compassion appeared on Hennesty's face. "Of course…" he whispered to himself. "I'll do anything for Nadia's grandson…"

A jingling sound could be heard from the entrance door, indicating a new customer entering the store. He head to the door and recognised one of his most regular customers, a noble man from the town. "Greetings, Master Edonio!" Hennesty greeted with a bow. "How are you doing?"

Master Edonio amicably smiled at him. "Good day, dear Hennesty! I'm glad to see you in this fine day! I came with my servant Nova."

Hennesty shut his mouth at the sound of the name "Nova", and then he laughed. "Nova is coming? Great, I have a surprise for him!"

The sound of the bell rang out once again. The new guest was none other than the tall green haired man. "Nova!" Hennesty cried out. "What a nice surprise! You came with Master Edonio!"

Nova greeted him in return. "Mister Hennesty! It's always a pleasure to see you!"

"We came for the Carreau tome." Edonio finally claimed.

"Of course!" Hennesty exclaimed. "I'll leave the honor of helping you to my new worker, if this doesn't bother you."

"That is fine!" Edonio answered. "So, who is this new recruit?"

There was a big shock as soon as Nova noticed Oscar walking silently, eyes fixed on the paper he held. "Oscar?" the father exclaimed, astonished by his presence.

Without even knowing who spoke, Oscar rise up his weak sight toward the voice. The surprise widened his eyes. "Dad?"

"But… Oscar! When did you begin to work here?"

The boy was embarrassed to see his father the first day at work. "Huh… well… I just began today…"

The father bent over his son and laid down his hands on his shoulders. He was a bit mystified. "But why?"

"I noticed you were working very hard everyday, so I wanted to earn money too! I wanted to make you a surprise!"

Nova lowered his head a little. Oscar feared his father didn't agree with the idea. "Oscar…" he murmured with a rigorous tone, but his voice was gradually becoming more serene after. "That is a great idea you have here. Mister Hennesty is a trustworthy man!" It made the boy relieved.

The father stood up and kept an arm on his child's shoulders. Together, they began a discussion. Master Edonio joined them after. Hennesty watched them as they disappeared into their conversation. He got lost in his thought.

"_Well, this truly confirms my belief. This child is really Nadia's grandson…_" He began to smile. "_I'm so glad there is still a part of Nadia in this world. Thank you, Ashera!"_

"So, the Carreau tome?" the boy said, all excited of his first sell. "It's a dark tome! They are uncommon but we have them here!"

Edonio laughed at the scene. "Ha! Nova, your son is a good seller!"

"Of course, that's my son! Every nice qualities, he got them from me!"

Oscar dashed to one of the shelves and grabbed the magic tome. His father's master gave him the right amount of gold and both of the men left the shop. Hennesty came to the boy. He could see some proud on the teen's face. "Well done!" Hennesty congratulated him. "Your first sell! How do you feel?"

"That was pretty fun! Your guide helped me a lot!"

"I'm glad you like it! What do you think? Maybe someday I'll teach you how to use magic tomes!"

The boy laughed a bit. "It'd be nice! When will I see you in action?"

Hennesty took a stricter look. "Not now, I guess…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

The sum he gained by helping Hennesty wasn't that much compared to his father's salary, but he had enough to be able to buy food at their hunger. The situation particularly made Boyd happy, and Nova didn't have to worry about his own income anymore, which eased his mind greatly. To Oscar's surprise, Mina seemed to be the only one who was sadder of the new family situation: she was now alone at home to take care of every domestic task, which included the cooking. She wasn't very good at it, and she really missed Oscar's cooking. Lucky to her, each week, her stepson had two days off, and he was always insisting of cooking those two days since he enjoyed doing it. Of course, both Mina and Boyd never opposed the idea.

Oscar also liked his job. Not only he got to socialize with new and regular customers, but it wasn't too hard, and customers weren't as aggressive as he thought (well, some were, but Hennesty was always there to defend him in case of hostilities…). When he got nothing to do, he used the time to read some books.

It was during those tranquil moments he discovered about the whole world where he lived.

He learned about his own country, Crimea, founded in the year 390(1) but recognized as one full country at 400. Crimea was known for her blessed long peace, thanks to her pacific royal families. The only regions of the country where small wars still hold were at her Eastern frontier with Daein, another country which was reigned by a more hostile monarchy. Even with the constant tensions between the two countries, there was never a great war, at least not since a long time.

Both of the countries were part of the Tellius continent which held even more countries.

There was also the Begnion country, the greatest one of all Tellius. Crimea and Daein used to be provinces of Begnion but because of political reasons, both of them became independent. The absolute monarchy reigned in that country and their leader was always a female apostle who could listen to the voice of the Goddess Ashera, though Hennesty specified that right now, the country had no apostle since eight years because she was assassinated. Begnion Senators, with a certain Prime Minister named Sephiran as their leader, were the ones who governed for the moment until they will find a new apostle.

It was when Oscar read about other countries that he learned about the laguz existence. Laguz were humanoid creatures with animal traits, such as pointy ears and some with tails. Some kind of laguz could even fly with their wings.

There were the laguz of the Beast tribe who lived in Gallia, the country directly to the South of Crimea. Within the tribe were cats, tigers and lions. To the South of Gallia was the isolated country of Goldoa, the land of the Dragon tribe. Apparently they chose to cut themselves from the rest of the world. Next were the islands of Phoenicis and Kilvas in the South of the continent, respectively the countries of the Hawk tribe and the Raven tribe. At last, between Gallia and Begnion stood the gigantic forest of Serenes, the country of the Heron tribe. Hawks, Ravens and Herons were part of the big family of Bird laguz.

What made the laguz so special was the fact they could take a bestial form like their respective animal. Oscar found it fascinating that power he will never get the chance to have. In that form, laguz could easily fight anything in their full potential without the need of crafted weapon. All they needed were their sharp tooth, their strong legs and their huge claws, just like wild animals. Even with those natural powers, laguz were intelligent as humans.

"Oops!" he thought. "I guess the real term for human is '_beorc_'…"

But if laguz were just like beorcs, why was there a tension between the two races? Why hate a race because the individuals of that race had a tail and pointy ears?

Hennesty explained those physical differences prompted people to believe that those were the proofs of their superiority. The humans… no, the beorcs were supposedly closer to the Goddess while the laguz were physically closer to the wild beasts.

"But that's just ridiculous!" the boy exclaimed to his boss, quite revolted.

"I know, boy… I don't understand why people are like that. No one ever saw the Goddess, so no one knows how she looks like. Even if people actually know how she looks, I guess it shouldn't matter. We are all equal beings, after all."

Oscar stared at himself in front of a mirror. He imagined how he would look like with furry ears on his head and a tail at his bottom. He wouldn't see much difference. He would still have those green hairs, squinty eyes and same skin color. What's more, he would still be the boy with the same personality. Why some small differences would change him completely and making him inferior?

Now, he wished to meet one of those laguz to see what he or she thought of beorcs. Will the opinions be different from those of the beorcs?

One day, he asked his father what he thought of the laguz. At his relief, his answer was not hateful at all. "What I think of laguz? Well, they are living creatures just like us, intelligent and skilled in everything. Ashera created us all equal, so there is no reason to hate them as whole." The teen was pleased by that reply. "And you know what?" the father continued. "I did meet some during few of my travels with Master Edonio! They are just like us: if we are good with them, they will be good with us. That's reciprocal, you know?" Of course, his father always told him to be nice with other if we want the others to be nice with him.

Boyd's answer was a bit different from his father, but that was simply because he ignored their existence. When Oscar explained him what they were, the little boy thought of the wolf that had attacked him more than a year ago. It still gave him chills. Obviously, the older brother made it clearer by saying they weren't like savage beasts. With time, Boyd finally understood and he shared the same opinion as his brother.

But Mina's answer went into a more radical direction. "Laguz? What is it?"

"They are beings like us who can change into animals and-"

"Oh!" she interrupted him. "Sub-humans?" Her face revealed grimace of total disgust. "Those savage beasts! My old friends told me they like to attack humans and eat them!(2)"

Oscar was stunned by his stepmother's ignorance. "But laguz aren't like that…"

"Well, have you ever seen one before?"

"No… but Dad did…"

"Ah really…"

She suddenly kept her mouth shut and returned to her business. Never again the boy talked about the same subject to her.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Dull was the word that fit this usual morning. Oscar was sweeping up the ground in front of the bookstore since a little dust storm ran through the town last night. Everything went as easy as there was no rain.

Suddenly, he heard some cries. Those weren't help cries or anything like that, but more of a gathering event. Curiously he took a look around him. To his amazement, he could see at the peak of his horizon dozens of horsemen coming to his direction.

That was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen from that day.

Before him, knights, all in armor at the Crimean effigy with a noble and courageous behavior, were marching slowly right in front of him. Each of them carried magnificently forged weapons pointed at the sky. All the great and majestic horses' trots hummed at a impeccable rhythm that sounded like a melodic song.

Oscar was frozen before the scene. Hennesty came to assist him during the short show. Even with the constant squint on the boy's face, the old man could see a certain admiration in his eyes.

"Wonderful, huh?" the old man said while laying down his hand on the boy's shoulder. "They are the Royal Crimean Knights. They are the most skilled and strongest fighters of our country." He pointed at the magnificent carriage rolling in the middle of the knights. "You see that carriage? The king himself must be in. The knights must be escorting him somewhere."

"Wow…" The boy was fascinated. He watched the long grandiose row until it faded from his view. After a long silence, he finally revealed "I'd like to become a knight someday, too."

Hennesty began to laugh. He immediately guessed so as soon as the knights entered in his view. "You know, you can apply from the age of fourteen."

Radiant wonder appeared on the boy. "R… really? I can become a knight too?"

"Of course. Anyone can be a knight. All you have to do is to be strong and skilled. Before you become a knight, you have to go through the life of a simple soldier recruit. When you get stronger, you can get on the top and become a knight."

"I guess I still have a lot of time to become stronger before my fourteen years!" Oscar exclaimed with an unusual excitement. "I still have a bit less than two years to practice!" It was at this very moment he realized something. "Oh, but how can I practice and become stronger? I don't know how to fight…"

"You seem to forget about your father. He's also a guard of Master Edonio. He can fight. Why don't you ask him to train you?"

"I don't want to bother him! He works so hard all the time!"

"Ah, I understand, boy, but if you talk to him about it, maybe he can do something for you. You know, his master knows a lot of people who can fight. Maybe he can find someone for you!"

Oscar jumped of joy. "That's a very neat idea!"

The evening, the boy related of the event with the knights. Mina wasn't too much interested of the subject, but Boyd listened to him with a great passion.

"Hennesty told me they are the greatest fighters of all Crimea!" Oscar claimed with a thrill.

"Really?" Boyd said with a huge grin. "Dad is very strong! If the knights are stronger, they must be very, very strong!"

"I know! And you know what? We can train in the capital to become a knight at the age of fourteen!"

"Ah… Fourteen is still far for me…"

"Aw, don't be so sad, Boyd. It will come eventually for you too! As for me, it's in two years! I can't wait!"

Mina wasn't paying attention to their discussion until Oscar mentioned those last words. Did his stepson want to become a knight? It was much true he was beginning to mature and growing up at a higher pace since the first time she met him, and the moment he was greatly waiting for, the one when he will reach the age of maturity, was coming very fast. Personally, Mina didn't think he could join the knight because of his visual handicap. Who knows, he did found a job, but that was pure chance. Could chance follow him again?

She preferred to remain silent and listen to their unceasing discussion.

Until Nova returned home later. There were the usual greetings, but Oscar broke the cadence. "Dad! I saw some knights this morning! They marched through our town!"

"Really? That's very good, sonny!" the father answered with a beaming but tired smile. He gave his son an amicable small stroke on his back and grabbed the cup of water Mina gave him. He took a great gulp of it.

"And Mister Hennesty said I can apply to become one when I'll be fourteen!"

Those last words abruptly made the father spitting out all the water from the father's mouth. The three others startled at his sudden reaction, mainly Mina since she took all the water spit. Nova coughed a bit then he restlessly glared at his son, even ignoring his wife who was nervously cleaning herself. "Oscar… You want to become a knight?"

The boy took a more anxious aspect after he noticed the unexpected attitude of his father. "You don't like the idea?" he asked with some discomfort.

"Son…" Nova didn't know what to say. He gently scratched behind his neck, embarrassed of the current situation. "You know becoming a knight is very difficult…"

"Oh, but I already know that, Dad!" Oscar replied with more enthusiasm. "I can train, you know? I still have a bit less than two years to practice!"

Nova let out a stretched sigh. He was exhausted again from the job and he didn't want to discuss such a huge subject, but he could see the excitement in his son. "That's good… but how will you train?"

"Huh…" Oscar lowered his head. "I don't know…" He remained quiet for few seconds before he asked "Do you know people who fight and can teach me?"

Another exasperated sigh could be heard from the father, but actually, he was quite grateful of the situation. At last, Oscar knew what he wanted to do when he will grow up. "Well, I can teach you."

The boy raised his head. There was some kind of shiny hope in his small eyes, but at the same time, he didn't want that answer. He knew his father was always tired after work. "You shouldn't, Dad… You are always worn-out each night…"

The father revealed a smile. "Who said I'll teach you at night? Why not each morning, once a week?"

"You would do that? For me? Really?"

"You know what? Not only this is for real, but I'll tell you something that might impress you." He stared at his two sons. They were excited to know about their father's secret. "I've been a Royal Knight myself."

The whole family were silent, even Mina.

"Darling, you never told me…" she contested. At this very moment, she felt a bit left out.

"Bah!" Nova exclaimed with slight awkwardness. "That was all in the past, but if Oscar really wants to be a knight, I'd do anything to help him."

Both boys were still shut. They couldn't believe him for an instant. Their father… a knight? They could have a real hero as a father! Why did he leave his knighthood behind?

Nova cast his sight on his oldest. "Oscar, wake up tomorrow morning, I want to see you around 4 for your training in the courtyard." His voice tone was strict, but he could distinguish some proud.

Finally, Oscar straightened his stance. "I'll be there!"

The following morning, very early, the sun was barely visible in the sky, but it didn't bother the young teen; in fact, it was better for his eyes. He didn't need to squint that much. His little brother insisted to assist him. He wanted to see his father in action.

As expected, Nova was patiently waiting for them outside. He carried three long and strong sticks.

"I guessed Boyd would like to come, so I prepared an extra weapon for him!" the father revealed with a laugh.

"_But…_" Oscar thought. "_Did he really create those weapons during the whole night? I hope he isn't too much tired because of me_."

However, the man seemed to be quite in shape. Proud kept him that way.

"So, do you have any questions before we begin the training?" Nova asked while giving the weapons to his kids, the smaller one to Boyd and the bigger one to Oscar.

"Dad, did you sleep?"

"Of course I did! Few hours less of sleep won't kill me! Don't worry about me, sonny!"

"Ah-" He was going to reply that statement but he chose to shut up since his father was already sacrificing his sleep time for him. "But Dad, why aren't you a knight anymore?"

"Oh, I have been injured during my service, and you know, I really preferred to stay with my beautiful family!" In fact, that wasn't really the reason and Oscar could see the slight lie in his voice. While he chose to not add anything about it, the lie became embedded in his mind as a magnet stuck on a metal.

"First, you have to know the basic of combat. Knights must choose their weapon which will become their primary weapon for the rest of their service. Particularly, they will choose one of those four weapons: lance, axe, sword or bow. The axe is the most powerful of the three, but that's also the heaviest one, making its handling harder to master. Since it is the slowest one, it lowers its precision when trying to reach a target. The sword is the easiest one to handle of the four because it's the lightest one and the most accurate. The only thing is its low power compared to an axe. The lance is the most popular choice for knights and most of regular soldiers of the army. Its handling is a bit harder than the sword but it is a lot more precise than the axe. In term of power, it's between the axe and the sword."

Oscar listened to his father with a very attentive ear. He didn't have any battle experience, maybe except few adventure stories he read in his book at home or at his shop. He took a look on his brother who seemed to find their actual presence boring, which Oscar found pretty funny. Obviously, Boyd was only waiting for the action part of the training.

"The bow is much less popular of the four weapons since you have to use it at distance. We can't use that weapon effectively if our target is too much near ourselves, but its power is very decent."

He was thinking then: which weapon will he specialize to? Axe seemed too hard to master and too strong for him, and the sword sounded too weak. What about the lance, which sounded the most balanced one? He wasn't too sure. "What was your specialty?" he asked.

"The lance. I could also handle the axe a bit… thanks to Eryl…" Nova suddenly shut his mouth. He just realised what he just said as it came out so unexpectedly.

_Eryl_. Oscar heard that name before, but he couldn't remember when. "Who's Eryl?"

"Oh, a good friend of mine. During my years with the knights, we were in the same division. She was an expert with the axes. She personally taught me how to handle axes, and I taught her how to use lances." Nova shook is head a little then he came back to the initial discussion. "But I know a lot more about lance, of course!"

"Then I'd like to learn about lances!" Oscar revealed. He wanted to be like his father.

"Aw…" Boyd lamented. "But power is more fun, no? I want the axe!"

Nova chuckled at his youngest son's remark. "Don't worry, Boyd. Later, I'll make you a wooden axe, but for now, let's just content ourselves of those fortune lances."

Joy overtook the little Boyd. Oscar carefully took a look on his wooden weapon. He noticed the two extremities were covered by some kind of soft pillow. In fact, all three weapons were made that way.

"Oscar, try to attack me with your weapon."

The boy was confused. "How?"

"Any way you want."

"But won't I hurt you?"

The man smiled. "I assure you won't. Do as if I was your worst enemy."

Oscar took a moment to concentrate. He focused on his father. He took a step away and he imagined a big bad monster attacking his little brother. He frowned, confidently nodded to point out he was ready. He raised his weapon with his two hands above his shoulders and he lunged forward to attack him. As he tried to plunge the weapon into his enemy's stomach, he was suddenly stopped by the lance his father held with one hand. With one quick gracious touch, the man made a quick circular move to bring down the weapon held by the young teen.

"Wow, Dad!" Boyd cried with enthusiasm. He was waiting for such scene and was happy to assist the training for it. "How did you do that?"

"Ah, that was nothing!" the father answered with such legendary calm. "It took me a long time to practice." He turned to Oscar who looked nervous. His father had such an easy time to stop an attack. He must be so skilled. "You see, sonny? To become a good knight, you have to be able to guess the next attack your enemy will use. How will he attack? How will I dodge that attack? How to stop the attack? To be a good fighter, attacking at full power isn't enough, you must also use your skill and you have to be able to defend yourself according to different situations."

The teen was still lost. How will he learn that much in such little time? Nova could see the uncertainty on his older son's face. "Don't worry about it, Oscar. It looks hard, but like I always say, practice makes perfect! So by practicing constantly, maybe once a week, everything is possible."

And since that day, the two boys practiced fighting every week.

* * *

_Darn. I couldn't make it shorter. I kinda feel bad about it. When I thought of the ideas for this fic, there wasn't that much of stuff, but then I thought __it was too empty._

_Training! That's why Oscar and Boyd pwn so much in PoR! (less in RD BUT I STILL USE THEM).__ Oh yeah, and I suck at battle scenes. I actually never wrote one, so I tried my best. Oh, and I swear __**Rolf will appear in the next chapter**__! And, yes, Master Edonio isn't that much of a super uber noble with manners. He's just mostly rich, so that's why he isn't speaking like nobles and he treats his servants like his friends! We can compare him to Ike. _o.O

_And I totally know there is also the Wolf tribe (so please don't say I didn't list them...), but they were thought to be extinct until people found Nailah and Volug in Radiant Dawn!_

_Oh, and anyone can tell me why Firefox shows me a mistake for the word practicing, but Microsoft word doesn't show any mistake? Perhaps the American/British difference?_

_(1) serenesforest(dot)net(slash)general(slash)timeline10(dot)html  
(2) __I used the script from Radiant Dawn in the Chapter 1 on Part 3 for inspiration, where you can have any of your units visit the house in the middle of the map. Rolf's mom is in there speaking how she fears laguz. You can read it online at www(dot)feplanet(dot)net__(slash)index(dot)php?fepgames(slash)10(slash)scripts&id19_

**_Why doesn't this site allow url format? It's not like I'm advertising a site, I'm citing references!! _D:**


	5. A Baby

_Now that everything is set, maybe… ROLF WILL APPEAR? Probably, by judging the title of this chapter, heh. Oh, and Hennesty kinda plays a semi important role on this chapter, but he won't be the star, so don't worry _XD

_EmbeRin commented about giving my characters too much facial expressions (which I agree _XD_ ). It's just that… being a student in arts, facial expressions are kinda important to me, so that's why there were there so much in my fic, but I'll try to correct that from now (still, there will be some, but just not as much as before)!_

_Well, for a better read, this chapter has been beta-read by **Scarlaluna**! Many punctuation and gramatical errors have been corrected to please your eyes a little more! Thank you very much!_ :D

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I do not own Fire Emblem and its characters. Intelligent Systems and Nintendo own them._

**Chapter 5 : A Baby**

One day, during the next year, Boyd was visiting his brother at work. Novels never really interested him (except for few children books about fictional adventurers), but he always enjoyed time outside of home. Plus, watching his brother working amused him a little. Oscar appreciated his visits, since he didn't feel quite as lonely anymore. Sometimes, Hennesty even gave the little brother a few children's books.

That day, Boyd wanted to discuss an important matter with his older brother. "Oscar, don't you think Mina's gotten a little… fatter?" the boy asked with an unsure approach.

Oscar was surprised by the question. He did notice the detail, but never really expressed it out loud. "Of course I noticed…" he simply replied.

"But how did she do that? She doesn't even eat a lot!"

The oldest one burst out laughing at this remark. He could see the insult on Boyd's face, so he quickly stroked his hair to reassure him. "Boyd, Mina is pregnant."

Boyd scratched his head. He had never heard of the term. "Pregnant? What does that mean?"

"That means she is going to have a baby. Her belly is getting bigger because the baby is growing in it. We are going to have a new sibling: a brother or a sister."

A smile appeared on the younger boy's face. He was excited by the idea of having a new family member and not being the youngest anymore. "A baby! Now I can show you how I can also be a great big brother!"

"I hope so, _little_ brother!" Oscar added with a mocking tone.

"Bah!" Boyd murmured with a little embarrassment. "Hey! But how did she get pregnant? Can I get pregnant too?"

The oldest one stayed silent a moment before revealing, "Well, I hope you know only women can get pregnant…"

"But you still haven't answered my other question! How did she get pregnant?"

"Boyd…" Oscar didn't know the appropriate reply to this special subject. "You know, there are some questions that are better left unanswered for good reasons, and this is one of them." He could clearly notice the dissatisfaction on his little brother after the answer. "But you know what? I swear you'll find the answer to your question when you grow up!"

"Really? Then I can't wait to grow up!"

At that moment, a voice could be heard from downstairs. It was Hennesty. "Boyd! Your mom is coming for you; she's waiting!"

Boyd turned to his brother. "So, what are you going to do today?" he asked while running towards the stairs.

"I have to clean up the mess in the shop attic. Mister Hennesty finds it too dirty, so he wants me to clean while he's taking care of the customers."

"Then good luck, bro!" Boyd cheered before disappearing downstairs.

The day moved on smoothly and the clean-up went fairly well. The attic was used as a storeroom for the books and also as a room for his boss's precious items, such as souvenirs and family items, since he was also living in the same building. Oscar could find anything up here: very old and rare books, many small, average, but beautiful figurines, some paintings, and even a very rare dark tome called _Balberith,_ which Hennesty kept in case of emergencies. It was supposedly the best dark tome in the world. Oscar never saw his boss using magic before, but he wished he had, since Hennesty used to be a famed dark archsage from the Begnion desert; well, at least that was what he told him once. He also mentioned that, nowadays, the only times he used his magic were when he got attacked by bandits during his trips between Nabu and Melior (since Melior was where he got his books and tomes for sale). While it didn't happen that often, magic could come quite in handy.

Oscar found a huge book hidden under a seat. He thought to himself how the heck the book got there, so he decided to leave it with the other big books on a shelf. Unfortunately for him, he accidentally tripped on a small chair and fell with the book, making a loud sound echo across the building. Some papers flew out of the book and floated above the floor for a moment before making contact with it.

The teen lifted himself up a little and dusted the junk off of him. "Ow…" Oscar gave a slow moan. He shook his head a bit and turned to the old papers that fell on the floor. "Oh, letters!" He gathered them, but curious as he was, he vaguely peeked at them. "I wonder if they belong to Mister Hennesty." He put one of them in sight and decided to read the first lines silently. "_Year 513, to Hennesty Espera…"_

Wait a minute… the year 513?

Weren't they in the year 634? (1)

Oscar shook his head again. "_Maybe that was a mistake…_" he thought. "_The person who wrote the letter probably made a mistake between the five and the six in the date. If that wasn't the case, maybe his great-great-great-grandfather or something had the same name…_" But as he tried to put the letters back inside the book, curiosity picked him up once again; he couldn't resist the urge to check out if that really was a mistake. He noticed the dates and the names on all the letters: not only were they all addressed to _Hennesty Espera_, but the dates ranged from… _513_ to _615_.

Now, he couldn't believe all of his ancestors shared the same name, but like some people could say, we never know…

As his mind was contemplating how it could be possible, Hennesty quickly came to the attic with a worried look. "Oscar! What happened? I heard a sound from below! I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier; I was really busy with a customer…"

The boy quickly put the letters back where they came from and dropped the heavy book on a shelf, but the concern on his boss seemed to take no notice of his previous actions. Oscar somewhat felt bad for what he had done and couldn't hide the truth. "Oh, everything's okay, Mister… but… I found some letters…"

Hennesty finally noticed the book Oscar just put on the shelf. He recognized the huge book he used to put his old letters in a few years earlier, but luckily, he merely smirked at the boy. "Ah! Don't even think of reading them! That's personal stuff, you know? Just like a girl and her personal diary!"

But those words only made Oscar freeze. "Boy, why are you making that face?" At the obvious distress on the boy, Hennesty immediately ceased to smile, realizing that Oscar had probably read them, but still he asked, "Don't tell me… Did you read them?"

The young teen began to tremble. He was afraid of the upcoming reaction from his boss. "Mister Hennesty… I-I…" The jolt in his voice indeed confirmed the answer of his question.

To Oscar's surprise, Hennesty didn't seem very angry, but he looked rather distressed. It was the first time he saw him that way, as he was always keeping his slight severe and proud look. It seemed like he was hiding something. "Oscar, did you read th-"

"How old are you?" the boy interrupted.

Hennesty felt like he was losing some sort of battle, and Oscar really wanted to know why, but at the same time, the teen felt guilty about how he acted towards him. "I'm sixty…" the old man replied with a voice devoid of emotion.

"But-" Oscar wasn't sure if he wanted to continue the conversation. He felt stuck between the four walls of the attic, but a part of him urged himself to keep talking. "One of those letters mentioned the year 513. That was… a long time ago…"

"Oscar…"

"I thought beorcs couldn't live that long… Are you a laguz?"

Mentally exhausted, the old man sat down on a chair, taking a step away from the boy. He kept his head lowered in shame. Seeing that, Oscar did the same while keeping some distance. He wasn't sure what would happen next or what the boss would answer with. "Boy, of course I'm not a laguz. They all have pointy ears and I don't…"

Confusion took the teen. "But then you really are a beor-"

"Branded."

"What?" Oscar startled. "_A branded? What was that?_"

The old man felt an immense need overcome him to hide his self, to flee the situation, but it was obviously too late. He lowly explained without even looking at the teen, "You know, the result when a laguz and a beorc have a child together…"

The boy could feel a knot in his heart. The whole time, he never thought his boss could be something else other than a beorc, since there was no visible trait that could prove the opposite. He simply didn't know what to think… but why did Hennesty keep it so secret?

"Goddess Ashera forbids the union between the two races, and we are the sin of this world, the mistake of nature. I tried to hide my true self by traveling the world, but… I don't know… I had bad experience with the laguz in my younger age; they could sense my true self… And when beorcs didn't know my true nature, they were so gentle… I-" The old man caught his breath and felt confused, as if he were jabbering foolish words.

Seeing the sadness overcome the old man, Oscar couldn't just stand there doing nothing; he had to do something, but he didn't know what. "But… Mister… why is it forbidden? I thought beorc and laguz were supposed to be equal, so why can't branded be the same way too?"

"Didn't you listen? We are a curse, a sin; that's all! Understand?" The old man's voice held slight anger in it.

"No, I don't…"

"Then you are probably too young to understand…"

Those last words sank Hennesty into a pool of tears, which sent Oscar into even worse discomfort. Still, he tried to stand strong. "_Too young_" was probably the cheapest excuse to avoid an enlightenment about a complicated matter. He steadily closed his fists and revealed a slight frown on his face. He slowly approached the old man. "Mister, they say sin is evil, yet you are a good guy. How is that such a sin? I mean, look at you! Just few minutes ago, I thought you were a normal beorc, and now that you revealed yourself to be something else, in my eyes, you are nothing different, and your mind is still the same... So, why should my opinion about you have changed?" For some reason, those simple words softened up the whole room. Hennesty wiped the tears streaming down his face and finally looked up at the serene teen. There was a shiny hope in his heart that told him he could trust this kid. "I mean, you are still the same old man everyone loves."

"Oh Goddess…" The old man couldn't move, but he felt relieved.

"If beorcs and laguz are equal, then branded must also be, don't you think? There are probably evil branded out there, just as there are good branded. You are a good one." These words flowed from a gentle smile.

Hennesty burst into tears once again, and this time, they were grateful tears. He welcomed the boy into his warm arms. "I'm glad to have met you, Oscar…"

xXxXBWAHAHACHEESYCUTESCENEXxXx

That was a very special night; the whole family was reunited in the same room. In the middle of all curious sights was an exhausted Mina, lying comfortably on her bed but having enough strength to hold a loud pink child. She was gently stroking his soft, light green hair while Nova sat beside her, caressing her tender face. The two other boys had their eyes set on the charming little being held in the woman's soft arms.

"Nova, he's so cute…" Mina weakly exclaimed. After all that time, she was finally so joyful to have her own son. "I love him so much!"

"Yeah, a baby in the family! Now I won't be the youngest one here!" Boyd added with a smirk.

Nova took the newborn with his strong hands, and to everyone's surprise, he held him out to his oldest son. Oscar became astounded. "Soon, you're going to Melior, following the path of a knight. I want you to hold your little brother and give him a name."

Mina looked at her husband and nodded in agreement, as it seemed both of them had probably discussed about the subject earlier. Oscar quivered when he held the little baby against him. He had never cradled such a young infant before, not even baby Boyd, since he was much too young back then. By looking at his new little brother, he realized that his fourteen years had gone by fast. He looked himself in front of a mirror; he had grown up so much! If no one was aware of the family situation, someone could even have mistaken him for the premature father of the new child! "A name…" the teen said. He thought for a moment. He didn't know what kind of name to give this one, as he already had the honor of naming Boyd. "No," Oscar told his stepmother with a serene tone. "Mina, I'll leave the task of naming him to you. It's your son, after all. You always wanted to have your own child, and you finally have it. It's up to you!"

The young mother began to cry. Happiness seemed to have possessed her. She took her son back impatiently and set her sight on her oldest stepson. "Thank you, Oscar!" she appreciated before turning her eyes upon her baby.

"Oh, but I wanted to give him a name too…" Boyd moaned.

"C'mon, Boyd," the older brother replied him with a strict voice. "You know Mina deserves that honor…"

"Ah, all right…"

That egotistical attitude of Boyd revealed a slight grimace on Mina's face, but her exhaustion stopped her from adding a comment about his behavior. "Well, a name… What do you think of Rolf?"

Nova answered first. "Rolf. That's a cute name. How did you come up with the name so quickly?"

"That was the name of my departed uncle. Actually, it was his nickname, since his real name was Adolf, but everyone called him Uncle Rolf. He quickly adopted the new name. He was my favorite uncle!"

"I like that name too!" Oscar approved.

"Bah…" Boyd muttered. "That's not too bad…"

Rolf became a new family member.

xXxXYAYWHATACRAPPYSCENEXxXx

A few weeks later, in the two older brothers' room, both of them were discussing before they fell asleep.

"Hey, bro," Boyd began. "Are you going tomorrow?" The young boy seemed a little sad.

Oscar looked at him with a smile. He gave him a pat on the back. "Yeah, I'm going tomorrow. Mister Hennesty will take me along to Melior with his carriage and his horse, since that's where he gets his books for his store. But don't worry; if they recruit me, I'll write letters to you and everyone else."

A childish joy seized the young boy. "Why are you saying 'if they recruit me'? Of course they'll take you! You're almost as skilled as dad, and you're even stronger than me!"

The teen began to chuckle. Obviously, his little brother liked to emphasize on his own strength. After all, Boyd seemed to have a natural talent with those wooden axes, even at such young age. He even managed to surprise his father during those trainings. "Thanks, Boyd, but enough talking: we must sleep; it's getting late. The road to Melior will take few days."

The child happily sank himself into bed and hid himself under the cover. As he began to drift into dreamland, he added, "Good night, Oscar!"

"Good night, Boyd."

But Oscar couldn't sleep well that night.

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Early the next morning, Mina was preparing the breakfast while keeping an eye on little Rolf, who was playing alone on his bench. Everyone was still asleep, but she could hear a sound coming from the two brothers' room. Oscar was probably readying his stock for the ride to the capital. Now that she thought about it, she would likely miss him deeply.

Suddenly, Rolf began to cry. "_Not again!"_ Mina thought, leaving a long sigh. She left the soup she was concocting and took the little baby under her arms. She tried to cradle him but her nervousness made the baby cry even more. She began to panic. "C'mon, Rolf, stop crying, you'll wake everyone up..."

"Mina, do you need some help?" Mina turned to the voice. It was Oscar. "Rolf's crying again, I see…" he remarked with his usual calm and serene smile. He held out his arms to him. "Give him to me a moment; I'll calm him down."

The young mother felt relieved. Oscar seemed to be better at taking care of children. Maybe that was because he grew up taking care of Boyd his whole life. Mina slowly placed the crying child under the young man's arms. He gently fondled his little brother's belly. Rolf calmed himself and began to laugh. "Thanks, Oscar; you're a really good big brother."

"Ah, that was nothing," the teen replied shyly. "Rolf's a little crybaby, isn't he? I think he's hungry and the smell of your soup makes him a bit excited."

Mina observed Oscar holding her child a moment. Suddenly, a knot twisted inside of her stomach. She couldn't believe it. After all those times, she had never noticed how much of a gentleman her stepson was. Everything came to her like lightning storming past her: his soft face, his serenity, his kindness, his… and even some sort of handsomeness. She began to think: the gap between his age and hers wasn't that great: ten years, to be exact.

It was at this very moment she realized what she was thinking. She nervously shook her head. "_Goddess… What's my problem? That's the son of my husband!_"

"Mina…" Oscar broke the sudden silence that was roaming the room. "I think the base of that soup will burn out if you leave it for too long."

Her face was red as an apple, but she tried to make it go away. "Oh no!" she exclaimed, running to the soup. She sank the dipper inside and began to blend it. After she calmed down, she extinguished the fire under the soup pot and took a deep breath. "So, I guess this is the big day, huh? You are going to Melior this morning. Don't you feel a bit nervous?"

"A little…" Oscar revealed, still cradling Rolf. There was a bit of sadness in his voice. "I won't have the time to know my little brother, and I won't see you that often." He took a more cheerful tone. "But I hope the money I'll gain will greatly help the family!"

"Money?" Mina asked, surprised. "I thought you wanted to be a knight! I hope money isn't your sole reason to become one!"

Oscar began to laugh softly. "Of course not, but Mister Hennesty told me once that people in the army get a pretty high salary, especially knights. I guess that's… another reason. We aren't the richest people in town, you know."

Living under a quite poor roof is a truth they couldn't hide, and now that the family was growing, money became a little more than necessary.

"Good luck, then…"

oOoOYAYMORECUTESCENEOoOo

"I guess we won't see you for awhile…"

A mood full of mixed pride and sadness reigned in front of the house where the whole family was reunited for a last good-bye. Boyd, holding his little brother in his arms, tried to hide his pain. He wanted to prove everyone how strong he could be, but his older brother could clearly notice behind that wall of strength a hidden sorrow. Their father took him in his big arms for a long hug.

Surprisingly, the young woman kept her distance from the scene, but she was close enough to not miss anything. The thought of the earlier hour still haunted her mind.

"Alright, Oscar; we must go. Melior is waiting for you!"

After a last quick and gentle stroke on the hair of his two little brothers, Oscar took his bag of stuff and climbed on the carriage where Hennesty was waiting calmly. The teen turned to his family and send them a hand. "I'll send you letters, I promise!"

As soon as the old man gave his horse the order to move forward, Boyd could feel a sudden burst in his heart. From this point onwards, he knew he would not see his older brother for a very long time. He didn't know how to deal with family situations without the friend who had accompanied him throughout his whole life.

At the very moment the carriage faded from his view, he realized a new life was awaiting the both of them.

* * *

_Arrgh. Another long chapter. Sorry guys and girls! _:(

_For some reason, the last part of the chapter was the toughest part to write. Maybe... MY INSPIRATION IS GONE? NOOOES!_

_Yup, that scene between Hennesty and Oscar. I'm pretty sure Oscar isn't the kind of guy to hate branded as Soren thinks for every beorcs. And I'm pretty sure anyone within the mercenaries wouldn't mind to see Soren as a branded (well, maybe except Shinon). The reason I made Hennesty a branded is because I felt like there was no action or anything, so I want to spice things a little bit _:p_ Now that I reread it, it seems… cliché… I tried to be a bit different from that Ike and Soren support, so tell me if it didn't work because I actually rewrote that part to make it different _XD

_Next chapter, Oscar is going to Melior to become a knight (that also means… We get to see that red haired boy soon too!)! And Boyd will be stuck at home with Rolf! So cute! Also, I'll try to give a more important role to Boyd from now on (plus he'll get a new friend!)._

_Again, thanks for reading! _:D

_(1) serenesforest(dot)net(slash)general(slash)timeline10(dot)html , again, but I considered Oscar's age too, since he is officially 24 in Path of Radiance, and in that moment in the fic, he is 13 (well late 13). So the year is 634, since the war begins in 645._


	6. Recruits and Friends

_Okie dokie. First, once again, I sincerely want to thanks __**Scarlaluna**__ for the super great job in editing!!!!!! Seriously, you rock! _:D_ -gives a big, big hug and tons of cookies- Merci beaucoup! _;_;

_Now, finally, Oscar is going to Melior! What kind of adventure will await him and what will the family do without him?_

_Okay, I admit I made Mister Hennesty a bit Mary Sue and he'll be a bit in this chapter (as showing his powers), but let's say he's a much powerful Archsage as any Archsage you find in the game (kinda like Bastian). Bastian is supposed to be quite skilled, so let's say Hennesty is an equal to him _:p _It's normal for an older fellow to have more experience than any younger character, no? Please don't hurt me…_

_Also, I have no idea how recruitment in the army works in the world of Fire Emblem, so I'll improvise._

_Plus, I'm extremely sorry for the huge late! Actually, I've been slacking very much _:(

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Fire Emblem and its characters. Intelligent Systems and Nintendo own them._

**Chapter 6: Recruits and Friends**

In this great, dark forest, night was dominating the huge sky and bugs began their smooth melodies. Nabu was now far behind and Melior was approaching fast. When they reached an open clearing lit solely by the bright stars, Hennesty stopped his mount. "We'll stay here for the night. Hilda is tired; she's been walking for hours and she needs a bit of sleep, don't you think? I think I need some too, after all!" he finished with a laugh.

After installing their camp, both of them constructed a fire to give them some warmth and grill their salted meat which they kept as supplies. When he finished his piece, Hennesty gave a gentle pat to the young man's back. "So, Oscar, how do you feel being this far from home?"

Oscar swallowed his last mouthful and then wiped his face. "Well, I miss them a little…" he answered, melancholically. "I wonder how Boyd will deal with his little brother, Rolf. He isn't really a responsible guy, but at least Mina's always there to take care of them. Plus, dad's working very hard already, so… Maybe I shouldn't worry too much… Also, they want to see me succeed, so I guess that means I shouldn't worry for their sake! It encourages me to have such a wonderful family!"

The old man gave him another pat on his head, as if he were a little child. "Ha! It's a good thing! Having a nice family…"

The teen kept a moment of silence. He nodded his chin to the sky with a calm mien about him, considering something. "Say, mister… your family members; did you know them?"

Slowly, Hennesty inhaled a gulp of air before answering. "We could say that. I grew up with my gentle beorc mother. She told me my father was a cat laguz soldier living in Gallia. She lived there for a few years herself, but her relation with my father didn't last very long since he lost his transformation powers after my birth. No one knows why laguz loose their powers that way. Maybe the Goddess really does forbid the union between a beorc and a laguz." There was an ounce of sadness in his voice.

Before that sad revelation, Oscar couldn't steal his vision from the ground. He wondered if it was a good idea to ask about his family, but Hennesty kept his smile when he noticed the young man's discomfort. "Hey! Don't worry about that, boy! My mother was not a poor woman, so my life was prosperous and rich! She was a dark sage, so she taught me this art I'm still using nowadays. Though I rarely use it, I still have the touch!"

While the old man yawned a good shot, Oscar wiped his eyes. He was tired from spending his last night a sleepless one. "Come on, it's time to sleep. We still have two more days before we reach Melior. Hilda needs her rest, and the same goes for you!"

Yawns took possession of the young Oscar. Softened by the drowsiness, he slowly got on his two feet, slightly dizzy, and thrust himself inside the tent. "Good night, mister…" he bid, feeling comfortable.

"Good night, boy!" Hennesty sent back, sitting beside his horse. Actually, he would rather sleep on his horse's belly since it was a little more comfortable than the tent he made for the boy.

OoOabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzOoO

For once, Boyd was sleeping all alone in his room. He tended to feel slightly uncomfortable, as he wasn't used to being so alone. Usually, he would play stupid games with his brother, idiot contests, like a game they so creatively called "Glare at Each Other Until One Laughs", and Oscar was the expert in that game. Sometimes they would tell scary stories, and sometimes they made up jokes. Boyd was more proficient at this. That night, he couldn't sleep well. That feeling of isolation still bugged him. He was thinking of what he could do now that his older brother had vanished from the family setting. He also imagined what he could possibly turn into later in life. Maybe he could become a knight someday, too?

In the past, he never really understood what it meant, how it felt, to be a knight; even his father kept everything to himself. It was at particular moments when he wished he could spill dozens of questions about knighthood: What did they do, exactly? Was it fun to fight an enemy? Was it always full of electrifying action? He was afraid to ask those questions, thinking it would name him idiot in his father's eyes for ignoring such crucial things.

From that moment, he comprehended his new stature in this household now that Oscar was away. There was a little brother to take care of, and he wanted to prove to everyone how he could be a great big brother, just like his own before him.

He didn't want to feel lonely either. Rolf was still a baby so he couldn't be possibly a real friend. Indeed, he knew many kids in his neighbourhood, but he wasn't really close to any of them.

What if he went to find some real friends?

Of course! With Rolf in the family, he would be the perfect magnet! He was the best instrument for attracting people to his house! Especially girls; they always loved cute babies!

His idea would be perfect. He could bring him into the big park not far away, and since it wasn't very commonplace to see a man with a baby, people would finally notice him.

Boyd was so excited by his idea he almost spent a sleepless night.

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A sound erupted amid the haven. Oscar's eyelids rose slowly. Something seemed strange, for it was still dark as night. He stood up with an addled mind. Apparently, he hadn't slept for very long. He exited his tent and searched for Hennesty, but he was nowhere to be found. Even Hilda, his mount, had disappeared along with him.

The young man felt panic grace him. He never went alone far into the heart of an unknown forest in the middle of the night, and the idea of being left there without any kind of protection didn't necessarily please him.

Suddenly, he heard an agonizing cry that froze his veins stiff. Evidently, someone was in dire need of help. Though he was scared, he couldn't just stay here with his arms crossed. He had to do something.

Everything went so quick, as if he were wandering through a horrible nightmare. To make sure he wasn't dreaming, he slapped himself across the face, but was so tired at the moment that he couldn't really feel anything, or even slap any harder. Just in case his dream was real, he took a long tree branch and pursued the growing multitude of noises. His legs were trembling in fear, and every time his feet touched the ground, he was surprised he hadn't slipped.

The sight of Hilda in the horizon relieved him somewhat, and she was running towards the direction immediately where he stood. The mount seemed not only panicked, but she was running so fast that she didn't even notice the boy straight in front of her. Oscar dodged her crazy course and he could feel his heart beating hard. What on Tellius was happening? Why was she running so blindly? If Hilda was still around, then Hennesty was surely somewhere not too far, either. Maybe that was where the cry had come from… As more cries materialized and grew more audible, his courage grew a little stronger as well. He hoped nothing had happened to the old man.

That was the moment he noticed the darkness of the night around him was becoming even… darker. He thought the place was morphing into a deep abyss from which he wouldn't be able to come out. He watched the scene that was happening a little more than few dozen meters away from him: some injured armed men, bandits from the look of them, frozen by a strange fear. And then there was Mister Hennesty, also injured, but still confident, with an arm and hand pointed toward the sky, and the other hand holding one of his famous magical dark tomes. There was an unknown incantation coming from the old man's lips, some language that he couldn't understand.

And it was happening, finally. At the top of Hennesty's raised hand, a dark, electrified sphere was gradually forming. Oscar didn't dare to approach the scene any further, and, fearing for the worst, he hid behind a large rock, observing the scene with his squinty eyes glued to it, sturdily holding his long branch.

One of the bandits, probably the leader since he was wearing a different cloth from the rest, stepped forward the old sage, sweating horribly, maybe by the fright or the injury, no one could tell; it seemed that he stood up in the battle for a while. "I will not surrender to an old dickhead like you!" the leader threw at the old man, trying his best to stand proud. "You don't scare me!"

Hennesty ignored the bandit's speech, and as soon as the dark sphere disappeared, he immediately dropped down his erect arm toward the ground and yelled "Carreau!"

As the bandit ran after the old man, three similar dark spheres popped up from the ground surrounding him, making them impossible to avoid. "H-How…" the bandit murmured in terror just before the three spheres sank into their center, colliding into the poor man and exploding with a powerful clatter, making a strong wind birr around the explosion, blinding everyone around. After the dusts left by the magic spell disappeared, the same went for the darkness. The area went back to normal, but it left that bandit dying on the ground, sinking in his own blood with many cuts etched around his body. Soon after, he stopped moving indefinitely.

The other bandits were in total panic. It seemed they had underestimated the old man's skills. "T-The boss is dead!" one of them shouted, trembling in dread. "Let's get out of here!"

Most of the men escaped the place, leaving Hennesty with three bandits, more defiant than their spineless comrades. "What the… What cowards!" one of the three yelled, frustrated over the fleeing men. "We can beat him with the three of us alone anyway!"

"Yeah, let's just finish him now!" another one added with his axe pointed toward the old man, ready to attack again.

While the men made their useless speeches, Hennesty had already begun his new spell. The forest morphed a darker color once again and the three men feared for the worst. When they ran after the old man, suddenly there was a huge vortex of darkness obscuring the whole place. Even Oscar could feel its power from where he stood. He retreated into himself with fully closed eyes, scared that would affect him too.

"Balberith!" Hennesty cried, finishing his incantation and raising his magical dark tome.

There was an earthquake, then an unexpected silence. Oscar opened his eyes. He was grateful he didn't have any injury of any sort, but when he took a look at where the bandit stood, there were only three bodies humped in their own pool of blood. The teenager didn't know how to react; he just stood there, sight stuck on the three bodies, his mind filled with confusion and pity. It was the first time he saw a magic spell, and the first time he witnessed death.

And that, he surmised, would not be the last time, either.

One of the men was still breathing, but he couldn't move because of his death-bringing injuries. He was imploring the old man to heal him, to let him leave; that he regretted doing all those awful things he did in the past. He clearly didn't want to die with the others. As a response, Hennesty approached slowly; a tricky smile visible on his blood-splashed lips. "You've reaped what you deserve. Hasn't anyone taught you never to attack people in their sleep?" the old man advised, mocking the dying man, knowing he would not survive this anyway.

Being slightly injured himself, Hennesty walked leisurely to where Oscar was hiding. He finally noticed the teenager in his spot, still frozen by the fright. Noticing the fear, the old man looked at him with a calm face, maybe a little too much after such a dramatic scene. "Oscar, you always wanted to see me in action, didn't you?" he asked cheerfully. There was still a mocking tone in the voice. Oscar only kept his silence. "Well, you just witnessed me take care of a few inexperienced bandits wanting to pillage our little campsite, but they got their lesson… Nobody should ever attack an old man!" he added with a laugh, but Oscar couldn't find the effort to even smile with him.

Before both of them returned to their camp, the young man looked back where the bodies lay. The surviving ones came back, saddened by the death of their companions. By watching the scene, he realized the prospect may recur often in a military life.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to go to Melior anymore.

He rejoined Hennesty in the haven. To his surprise, instead of trying to find his sleep again, the old man replaced his baggage in the cart and attached his mount, who had apparently arrived back in her spot. Oscar came to him and asked, "What are you doing, mister?"

"We have to depart, of course!" he answered. "The surviving bandits might pursue us if we stay here any longer!"

After everything was set, they took the road again even though they were exhausted after a short sleep. Hennesty seemed to have already forgotten about the scene, but Oscar couldn't erase those awful memories from his thoughts.

"Mister…"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Will I have to… kill people too?"

The joyful look on the old man suddenly disappeared.

"If that's how I feel about death, I- I don't know if I can do it…"

Hennesty let out a long sigh before explaining the situation. "Listen, people in the army have good reasons to fight. Their first goal is to protect and help the country they love." Seeing it didn't make the teenager feel better, the elder continued with a more composed tone. "If you protect your country, you protect your family as well. To protect your family, you have to fight the enemy. Sometimes, you even have to kill… Those bandits you saw earlier, their only reason to kill is to loot people for their own greed."

Oscar lowered his head. He couldn't imagine himself killing a horde of people. When he watched Hennesty finishing those bandits, he couldn't see any remorse in his companion's eyes, as if killing didn't make him feel anything.

He just didn't want to become like that.

"All right, you have to sleep, boy. The road is still long, but with some sleep, time will pass quicker, trust me!"

After these words, the young man laid down his head on his bag and slowly closed his eyes. He hoped to wake up from this nightmare that stemmed into reality.

YoOpIdOoOoOoHhHh!1!1!1!

Rolf was comfortably sitting on his chair, sucking his own fingers. He watched his mother concocting him a delicious fruit paste. She seemed proud of her work.

"So, my dear little Rolf, what do you think? It's your favourite paste!" She held a small spoon firmly between her fingers and directed it steadily towards the baby. However, Rolf kept his lips shut; he didn't appear all that hungry. Seeing that, Mina was deceived. "C'mon, my baby! It's the same old paste, just like your big brother used to make! In fact, it's even better that that!" But the infant wouldn't budge. The woman sighed and returned to the dinner she was preparing at the same time.

Loud steps could be heard throughout the whole house. Boyd ran to the dinner room where his little brother and his stepmother were. He had that sardonic smile on his face. Surprised, Mina looked at him with a slightly confused face. "Well, Boyd, you look pretty happy this morning!"

The young boy fixed her merrily before answering. "Oh, I want to borrow Rolf for a moment. I'm going to play with him outside!"

Mina jolted. It was unusual to see Boyd excited about playing with her son. He looked as if he were plotting something. If that was the case, it shouldn't be much to worry about since this was… Boyd. "Playing with him? Where are you going?"

"Oh, the park. It's not too far, and Rolf loves the park, doesn't he?" the boy answered with a feigned innocent tone.

Decidedly, Boyd was very determined to achieve the goal he was trying to reach, even though Mina had no idea what it was. "All right, Boyd, but I'll go with you two."

Boyd's large smile gradually disappeared. He didn't want her to come with him. "But why?" he asked desperately.

Mina took a more severe look. "You are too young to go outside alone with the baby, so I'm going to watch over you two."

The kid showed his defeat. He knew too well he was young for this, but at the same time, he wanted to make sure his plan worked perfectly without her giving him negative comments as she usually did, much to his chagrin. "Okay, don't worry; I won't do anything reckless in the park, I promise!"

The stepmother set an intrigued sight on him, but at the same time, she thought this would be somewhat fun. "I believe you, sweetie!"

In the park, Mina decided to sit down not too far away from the boys, reading out of her little book, while Boyd sat under a tree with Rolf crawling along the grass, having fun with his toys. Boyd looked around with an attentive look. He was waiting for some people to notice him. He took one of Rolf's toys and decided to jig it over the baby's head. Rolf took a look at it and began to laugh. "So, little Rolfie, having fun?" asked the older brother, proud to show publicly how good of a big brother he was.

The baby gave him a big smile; he always had fun playing with his big brother, especially in the park. He tried to catch the little toy but Boyd stole it far from the infant. Amusedly, Rolf cried out a laugh. The older one did the same move several times until a young woman, probably around the age of his oldest brother, noticed him, intrigued. Boyd had been aware of her presence for a while now, but obviously, for his own fun, he decided to play as though he was oblivious to the woman.

The young woman finally approached the two brothers. "Oh, what a cute little baby!" she exclaimed, sparkles dancing in her eyes.

Boyd raised his head with pride and replied, "Thanks! Indeed, with a big brother such as myself, this baby's gotten all the greatest features from me!"

The teen girl ignored that conceited comment and inclined softly over the little child. She gently tickled his soft cheeks. "But who's the little baby, huh? Say hello to the lovely lady!"

As she began to make some weird grimaces, little Rolf started to sniff. He raised a terrified lamentation. Seeing that, the young woman rose a little but never ceased to stray her distance. "Aw, what is it? C'mon! Give me a smile!"

Then came the crying. It made the girl step away a bit. Because of that, the instinct to protect his little brother came to Boyd, making him to pull Rolf close. He gave the girl an angry glare. "Hey! You made him cry, you damn girl!"

Feeling insulted, the annoyed woman stood up straight with a despicable glower the young boy's direction and let out a snob "Hmph!" Before turning her back the opposite direction, she cried, "What kind of manners are those? It's not like I wanted to hurt him!"

While she deserted them with furious steps, Boyd hit himself on the head, realizing his plan had failed. "Damn it! That wasn't my original plan! I wasn't supposed to say evil things!" Still, his scheme had at least begun well; if one person had noticed them and approached, it meant he only had to stay nice with the people who would continue to come closer! He held out Rolf before him, face to face, and Rolf stopped his cries. He innocently stared at his older brother with huge emerald eyes reddened by the tears.

"All right, Rolf! A little effort won't hurt you! Give me your biggest smile! We'll lure people with your charm!"

Not long after, another girl came to them. "Aw, that's a cute baby!"

"Of course, my lady!"

From afar, Mina checked the scene and began to laugh. Obviously, her son was going to be the cutest one around. It was so obvious!

oOoOoYaWnOoOoOo

Oscar's eyelids lifted faintly. A bright light blinded him and he immediately placed an arm before his sensitive eyes. Gently he wiped them and looked around. The forest had disappeared and all he could see was an infinite expanse of wheat field. He had never seen such a great and beautiful countryside before. He could also see, in some spots, people labouring on the field, and each of them seemed to enjoy working on them.

He noticed he was sitting on the back of his boss's cart with all the supplies. Before him, Mister Hennesty was conducting Hilda, his mare. Oscar headed forward and gave him a greeting. Hennesty noticed him and gave back a smile. "Oh, good afternoon, Oscar! I see you slept well! I didn't want to wake you up, since you looked so peaceful… You were sleeping since yesterday evening… It's been a while!"

The teenager suddenly froze. Yesterday evening? Wasn't he awake in the middle of the night because of the bandits? He was confused all of a sudden. "Huh? But Mister; what about the bandits?"

Hennesty gazed at him for a moment with higher eyebrows; he didn't seem to understand what the young man was saying. "Bandits? What are you talking about?"

Was everything a dream? "But, last night, there were bandits attacking and you made them flee with your magic…"

The old man scratched his head, puzzled. "Really, I don't remember. You must have dreamed all about it!"

Looking up in the sky with a long inspiration, Oscar wondered if the man was actually making fun of him, or if he was speaking the truth. Everything seemed so real: the wind made by the spell, the agonizing cries of the bandits, his heart beating hard during the event. When he looked at the old man, the scars he had from the fight disappeared already. He knew some healing items such as vulnerary or herbs were capable of such miracles, but he had never seen Hennesty bringing any.

"Ah, the young with their imaginations! Sometimes, I wish I could become young again!"

Still confused, the teenager decided to forget about it and behold the environment. To change the subject so that he could put away those awful thoughts about that "unreal" night, he asked a question. "Say, Mister. This wheat field; it's pretty huge. How long will we be in it?"

Hennesty laughed. "I'd say around two hours long. There's a village at the end. We can stop there to rest a bit if you want!"

"_Those will be two long hours…_" Oscar thought.

IhateANONYMOUSbadDRIVERSwhoBUMPintoMYcarAAARGH

After that fiasco in the park yesterday, Boyd decided that this day was THE day, the one that he would succeed. He'd bring Rolf with him again and this time, he would try harder to be charming, just like his little brother.

On the road to the park (with Mina beside him, of course), he began a discussion with the baby which made the mother laugh. She listened to everything her stepson was saying, though she didn't give any comments about it. "Rolf! Today, everything will be perfect! You won't cry in front of everyone like yesterday! So give yourself a better shot this time!"

The baby gave a mere laugh as a response and put his tiny fingers into his mouth. Confidently, Boyd continued his road, looking up proudly.

Ready to welcome more curious looks, the two brothers waited at the same spot in the park, with Mina sitting on the same bench reading her same book, and soon, as expected, a little girl came to the two boys, curious. "Aw, cute! Is this your little sister?"

Boyd almost chuckled at the bewildering mention of "little sister", but he tried not to. There was a moment of hesitation before he answered. "Hm… Yup!"

The little girl noticed the hesitation in his voice. "You don't look so sure…"

"Oh, that's because it's a guy!" the boy replied with a more enthusiastic voice.

Suddenly the girl jolted. She felt remorseful. "Ah! Sorry! I thought he was a girl!"

"Well, he could be! I mean, he's such a crybaby!" Boyd was proud of his joke, without realizing the other's reaction.

Obviously, it made the girl angry. "What the… Did you just call us girls crybabies?"

That was when the boy realized what he had just done. Oh no, not again! Why did he always have to speak before thinking? Nervousness took over the boy as the girl began to sniff uncontrollably. "No no no! That's not what I meant!"

It was too late. The girl was already running after her mother with tears falling from her eyes. She happened to be sitting beside Mina; both of them seemed to be discussing things amicably. "Mommy!" the little girl yelled as she threw herself into her mother's arms.

"What is it, sweetheart?" asked the mother with a bored look; decidedly, she didn't take the whole situation as seriously as her daughter. Mina watched the scene curiously.

"That guy over there with the baby! He was mean to me!"

After these words, Mina turned to Boyd who finally reached them with Rolf in his arms. Frowning, she stood up before her stepson and lifted a finger to show her authority over him. "Boyd!" she yelled while the boy tried to hide behind Rolf. "What did you do again?"

Boyd shamefully scratched his head. "But I didn't do a thing! I just told her that Rolf was a crybaby, which is normal because he IS a baby!"

Hearing that, the girl took her courage and faced the boy. "That's not true! You said all GIRLS are crybabies!"

The little girl's mom kept a smirk even though she was puzzled. "Come on, Anna, it's all right! I'm sure that boy didn't really mean to say all those awful things to you, huh?" She ended the sentence with a wink Boyd's direction, which actually relieved him of some worry.

Boyd curled up his lips, seeing the girl's mother was defending him. Clueless about what to do, Mina decided to simply watch the whole thing again before her. The boy spoke again. "Well, I'm sorry, then!" he exclaimed, tending his hand towards the girl.

The mother gave him a smile. "See, sweetheart? He is a kind boy, he apologized!"

The little girl lowered her head, still sniffing a bit to make her final tears go away, then in turn, she held out her hand for a friendly handshaking. "All right, then…" she accepted. She even began to smile too.

Mina finally commented on the circumstances. "Well, I guess all's well that ends well!"

"Hm…" the girl mumbled shyly. "Can I play with you and the baby?"

"Sure!" Boyd pompously answered, still joyful about being able to escape the situation without any problems. "Let's go… there!"

As they ran together to a sandbox afar, the girl introduced herself. "My name is Anna! What about you?"

The two mothers watched them as they went to their sandbox, delightfully pleased to see that there might be some kind friendship between the two kids. "Your son seems really nice!" Anna's mother told Mina.

Mina stayed a bit perplexed to these words. If only Boyd really was her son… After a silent moment, she finally replied, "Thanks. He's a good boy, indeed!"

xXxCRIESiMsoLATEsniffxXx

He had never seen such a huge town before. Melior was even more magnificent than he imagined and he felt privileged to be able to witness its splendour. Hennesty began to laugh at the young man's reaction to the view of their great capital. From afar, they could even see the huge castle where the king of Crimea, Ramon, and the rest of the royal family, resided.

He thought his own town had been crawling with so many busy people, but in Melior, it was as if other people didn't exist! Everyone was so busy in their own affairs that they were shoving people in the crowd, not even concerned with how the pushed people were thinking. While most people would be shocked to see such a scene, it made Oscar smile. Since the beginning of their long road, all he saw were little villages or regions emptied from any kind of extensive humanity. Seeing so many people in one town fascinated him.

"I see it's your first time in the big town, isn't it?" Hennesty asked with a sardonic voice.

"Yes. I didn't expect so many people," Oscar replied, still stunned, watching everything around him.

Hennesty stopped the carriage in front of a towering edifice. He turned to the young man. "This is where the recruitment agency stands. They recruit people for the Crimean army and put them through special tests before they can become official trainees. Many people opted asking to be mounted cavalry, but there are actually more people asking to be armour generals, halberdiers, archers and even healers lately!"

Oscar went thoughtful. He wasn't sure if he could be accepted. "Do you think they will take me?"

A little grimace was seen on the old man's face. "Huh? Why wouldn't they take you? Your father didn't tell you? Most of the youngsters applying here have absolutely no experience in any kind of combat! Your father didn't have any either when he first came here, and see what he could do? Become a great knight himself!"

With this revelation, Oscar could feel a lot more confident. He felt as if the biggest pressure just melted away.

"They also say the most talented of the trainees get a promotion faster than anyone else. And you, my boy; you have the potential to be one of them!"

"Hm…" Oscar could feel some uneasiness. If most of the young recruits didn't have any experience, what will people think of his performance? Will they think of him as an arrogant guy for knowing more than anyone else?

"We should enter quickly; I think the line will be long inside!"

And how right he was: the line was long! There were around forty people in the front, mostly people around the teenager's age, waiting in the line, patiently and some more impatiently, to finally reach the desk at the end of the huge room. There were so many kinds of people: guys and girls, silent ones and confident people. Some waited with companions, maybe their parents, and some were waiting alone. Within the line, Oscar could also hear some discussions, mostly about their future glory days in the army; some were talking about the city's most recent events.

He could also see some people waiting outside the lines, probably more parents as they watched their children applying for some posts. "Bah. I think I'm going to wait with them! Have fun waiting in the line!" Hennesty giggled at Oscar, giving him a kind pat on the shoulder, and then he went to sit on a bench with a few other people. The young man sighed; he'd get bored in at least an hour.

After a while, some more teenagers joined him from behind. To his relief, the line went forward pretty hastily. It seemed the recruiter at the end didn't need to know much about the new recruits: he was simply asking for their name, their age and the class they would apply for.

He also noticed that most of the people applying for a healing class were girls. Of course, in a battle where injuries were common things, it would be very useful to get some healing help.

He listened to what the other people had to say; again, their dream of glory, of becoming stronger, of protecting the country they loved. He began to think of the reason he wanted to become a knight, that day when he saw all those knights on their mounts with the king in the middle of them. Everything went so fast, but the more he thought about it, the more it looked like a young boy's dream rather than a kind of duty. That dream he had about the bandits, regardless being real or not, was still stuck in his mind. Killing still didn't appeal him, but to see so many cheerful people applying in the army… he asked himself if he too should at least try to act cheerful.

A sudden voice brought him back from his thoughts. It was a young woman around his age, the one directly behind him. "Hey, uh… hi!" she greeted shyly.

Oscar blinked within an instant; he didn't expect her to speak to him abruptly. "My, hello!" he greeted back with his usual smile.

"Um, well, you know, I was wondering something…" she said, with some red on her cheeks. "There's a question I needed to ask…" As soon as she said those words, Oscar suspected what she was going to ask. "Hm… your eyes… how do you see with them?"

His smile halving, Oscar glared at her without saying anything. Realizing what she had just done, the young woman shook in shame. "Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't want to be mean! I'm sorry, I swear! Please forgive me!"

Those words could only make Oscar feel pity for her predicament, so he decided to raise his chin up, which reassured the young woman. "Oh, that's all right," he said, scratching his head, being a little embarrassed for acting so rudely. "If you want to know, I can see fine with these eyes. Hm… how can I say this? I have sensitive eyes, so I don't open them too much, simply put."

The young woman seemed surprised. "Really? It's the first time I've heard of such a condition! You must be incredible to be able to see like that!" she added, now much more sprightly. "So, may I ask: what's your name?"

Oscar blushed a little. He wasn't used to a girl speaking to him like that, especially one around his age. "My name is Oscar. I'm pleased to meet you. What about you?"

"I'm Fanny! I'm from a village not too far away!"

"Not far? I'm from Nabu. It's a three days trip from Melior."

"Three days? The road must have been tiring!"

"More boring than anything else, actually…"

A boisterous shout interrupted their conversation. It seemed that there was a rather loud, talkative boy at the recruiting desk up front. He was noticeable by his extremely proud posture and his red hair. "I am Kieran, future legendary Crimean Knight, at your service!"

The recruiter sighed; he appeared to be exhausted after all the people's names he had to write down, and this new guy, apparently by the name of Kieran (since he shouted it so loudly), was a little too much of an enthusiast. "Alright. How old are you?"

"Fourteen, and proud of it!"

"Good, good. And which major are you applying for?"

"What the… are you deaf? Future legendary Crimean Knight, of course!"

People in the line, including Oscar and Fanny, lowly giggled at the red-haired guy. That Kieran definitely didn't. "All right…" the recruiter sighed again, tired of his work. "You can take your things and wait in the room at your right behind me. Wait with the others."

The young Kieran watched as everyone dully laughed at him, keeping a menacing glare before all of them, and then he made that arrogant smile. "You'll see! You will tremble in fear before my strength, you giggling curs!" he yelled before disappearing in the room.

Some people shut their mouth while others still grinned at him. "Do you think he's good?" Fanny whispered into Oscar's ear, slipping a short giggle near the end at the reminisce of Kieran's behavior. The young man only raised his eyebrows, appearing uncertain.

"Why not? He appeared to be so sure of himself! It would be shameful if all that confidence went to waste," Oscar answered, always calm.

Maybe ten minutes had passed when it was finally his turn. Fanny gently pushed him forward. "So then, good luck, Oscar!" she encouraged.

"Thank you!" he sent back before turning to the old man at the desk.

Without even looking at him, the recruiter began his short series of questions. "So, what's your name, young man?"

"My name is Oscar."

"How old are you?"

"I'm fourteen."

That was when the old man looked up. "Hm…? And what major are you applying for, young man?"

"I'm applying for the knight class."

"Hummm…" Noticing the doubt in the old man's voice, Oscar began to feel a bit nervous, though he tried his best not to show it. "Your eyes. They're kind of on the squinty side, aren't they? Can't you open them a bit more?"

Oscar kept his cool, hiding his worry. "No, but I can see just fine, thank you."

"Good. At least you can keep your calm at such an unusual question. You are a good young man with a desirable upbringing. Take your things and wait with the others in the room at your right behind me."

He could feel his blood shooting through his veins and diminishing into calm, even flow. All the pressure had just disappeared like the wind passing. He thanked the old recruiter and sent a smile towards Hennesty, who was still waiting not too far away. He noticed the teenager and came to him, welcoming him in his arms. "What did you expect? I told you! You just went through the first step!" Hennesty told him with a cheerful voice.

"Well, that wasn't too hard…" Oscar commented a little shyly.

"Haha! I know, but the second step will be a little harder; they will test your physical endurance, but seeing your level, I don't see any problem."

"You are too kind, Mister!" the teenager added. At the same time, he took a look behind him to see what was happening with Fanny. As he foresaw, she had succeeded too. She joyfully jumped into his arms.

"That's so great! I'm going to join the healers' ranks!"

Oscar was astounded. "Healer? I thought you wanted to become a knight too…"

"Bah, no way! I don't feel very skilled with a weapon, and besides; I prefer to help people get better rather than fighting them!"

"Well, good luck for the test then!"

"Oh, there's no test within the healers ranks, since we don't need much physical effort for this work!"

Fanny cheerfully jumped around and went to her mother who was also waiting not too far.

"Well, I guess this is the beginning of a great adventure for all of you, don't you think?" Hennesty commented, glad to see that the young man was definitely going to have an awesome future ahead.

* * *

_Oh my, what a crappy chapter ending. I suck at happy endings. Plus this chapter was a pain to write, I don't know why _;_;

_I didn't give much backstory to Hennesty because __I didn't want him to become too important. And about him killing three people with one magic attack, I am fully aware that attacks in Fire Emblem can only attack one person at the time, but if __**Soren can do it in the**__**Execution cutscene**__ in Radiant Dawn, I bet __**every mages can**__! _:D _(Ike, Boyd and Oscar also kill many soldiers at the same time in the same cutscene!)_

_We finally get to see Kieran! So what kind of roles will await him? And again, NO YAOI, you fangirls (though I am one myself…)!_

_Also, some might be disappointed for this, but I don't intend to have any kind of romance with the canon characters, so no Oscar x OC or Boyd x OC (after all, Boyd's still young, heh). Sorry! _^_^

_Thanks__ for reading! _:D _I love you all!_


	7. Training

_A big thanks again to Angela/Scarlaluna for the editing! You rock so much! _;_;

_Sorry for the slow update, it's actually my fault, for many reasons, so you can put all the blame on me _:C

_The story is getting happier! Boyd has a new friend named Anna and Oscar is now in the new recruits! How will Boyd deal with his new friend, what will baby Rolf think (well as a baby, he won't think too much…) and how will be Oscar's performance? You'll see in this chapter!_

_By the way, I realized there might be some confusion between a knight and a cavalier, or something. I simply prefer to use the Radiant Dawn terms for classes since it's the last Tellius game. In their first tier, Horsemen in Path of Radiance were called __**Lance/Axe/Sword/Bow knights**__ and armoured units were simply called __**knights**__, but in Radiant Dawn (first tier still), horsemen were __**Lance/Axe/Sword/Bow knights**__ and armoured units were __**armor axe/lance/sword**__, not knights. So, that's why I prefer the term of "knight" for "cavalier" in this fan fic. Plus, the word "knight" sounds more epic. Also, they are called Crimean Royal __**Knights**__. Ha!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Fire Emblem and its characters. Intelligent Systems and Nintendo own them._

**Chapter 7: Training**

"Wow, is your brother really a knight?"

"Heh, you bet! Well, let's say almost! He applied just a few days ago, and I'm still waiting for his answer…"

"But that's so wonderful! Your big brother must be really cool!"

"We could say that. I already miss him, though."

Little Anna had called Boyd to come to her home for some fun since she didn't live that far from his residence. They were discussing their families, their interests, and their pastimes, which ignited their discussion about knights. It had been only a little more than a week since they first met, but they were already good friends.

The girl, a little younger than Boyd, told him she was the sole child of her mother, and an orphan of a father. He had been killed by bandits when she was very young, though she actually remembered him quite clearly. In the past, she recalled people speaking of her parents, saying they were still teenagers when they begot her, but nonetheless they loved her. Since her mother was so young and lonely when her boyfriend died, she lived by some allowance from her rich family who lived in the Northern part of Crimea. Because she was alone raising her sole daughter, she couldn't find work.

Anna dreamed of becoming a knight as well. She even pretended to have seen those same royal knights the day Oscar had seen them in town. Like him, her dream came to her simply by means of that way. By hearing that, Boyd could feel a little bit of envy toward both her and his brother; how he would have liked to see those knights! That must be a spectacular sight! He had seen some illustrations of them in books, but never had he seen a real one in real armor on a real horse.

"So, what should we do now?" Boyd asked, a little bored after passed time.

"Huh…" was the only word Anna could part from her lips. Truthfully, she didn't know what to do.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Boyd burst; for once, he was proud to embark upon a good idea. "Why don't we play "Knight"? I have all the stuff we need at home!"

"Really?" Anna replied all merrily before developing incertitude. "But what's "Knight"? Is it a well-known game? Cuz' I've never heard of it."

Boyd let out a mocking smile that somewhat peeved the girl. He was quick to apologize. "Ah, sorry! That's a game in which you take some wooden weapons and with them; you pretend you're a knight! My dad made some to teach us how to fight!"

"Ow; does it hurt?"

"Of course not! I swear!"

Anna jumped in delight. "Then I'd like to play!"

"All right, I'll go get some weapons!" As Boyd reached the door swiftly, he realized something: which kind of weapon should she use? "Say, Anna… axe, lance or sword?"

"Huh?"

"Which weapon do you prefer?"

"I think swords are cooler!"

"Right, I'll bring one!"

Before he even reached the fourth on the way home, Boyd remembered today was supposed to be the day Mister Hennesty came back! His bookstore wasn't that far, so if he could only go there and see the old man in his shop already, then he would ask about his brother. Though he already missed his older sibling, he hoped to not see him there; that would be proof of failure in the capitol.

As he arrived at the small bookstore, he could see the open notice at the door and from the windows. He detected some customers already browsing about. He could also distinguish the old man he wanted to see speaking with a shopper. As he expected, his brother was not there. He quickly entered the store and reached for the old man with a bright grin on his face, interrupting the calm environment of the place.

"Mister Hennesty! You're back!" Boyd came to him, all excited.

"Well, well, if it isn't Boyd!" Hennesty exclaimed back. Joyfulness could be seen on his disposition, leaving his customer on the side for a moment by adding with some discomfort, "Please excuse for this, Mister, I'll be with you in a moment…" The customer was envious to be left aside, but as soon as he noticed how cheerful the little boy looked, he decided to check out the scene, touched with an amused smile. Hennesty then turned to the child. "So, how are you, boy?"

"Oh, I'm great! I suppose you are too!" Boyd enthusiastically exclaimed. "So how was Oscar's performance there?"

"Actually, I was going to pay a visit to your family after I close the store to tell you about it, but since you're here, I guess I won't need to anymore, and I will not make you wait either. He has been accepted, of course!"

"Oh, wow! He's just too mighty! I'm so glad for him!" Boyd stopped a moment before realizing what he just said. Mightier than him? Ha! Never! "Well, yeah, he's all mighty and stuff, but I'll be stronger than him one day, you'll see!"

Hennesty laughed at him. "With a confidence like yours, you can do anything!"

OoOoIwantONEmillionSOiDONThaveTOworkoOoO

Under the warm light of the morning sun, in the capitol's castle court, the armored recruits were lined up in rows, remained standing, listening to the long boring speech produced by their new captain. He was teaching them the basics of combat, from the powerful axes to the weakest swords, to the advantage and disadvantage of each despite their weaknesses or strengths. Most of the recruits tried to hide their confusion about not understanding the speech, as it was probably a first time to their ears about fighting and weapon terms.

Although everyone kept their posture straight up and hid their puzzlement, Oscar could notice how their eyes revealed little nervousness. He suddenly felt relieved; he had never been so glad his father had taught him all of this essential information before he came here. Now that he already knew all of those terms, he could effortlessly follow his captain and rest easy.

There was an inch of amusement in the air as he could discern others around him doing the same thing when it came to checking their surroundings, trying to see if they were just as perplexed. Maybe they were thinking they weren't alone in this confusion, after all.

One more thing he had noticed: people appeared to be bored. Oscar smiled a little, remembering the first day he had trained with his father: Boyd was with him, listening to him, almost yawning out of his own boredom, because the only thing he was waiting for was the action part of the training. It seemed his teammates weren't so different from his little brother. How coincidently this setting stayed so familiar and comfortable.

After a good hour of theoretical speeches and extreme endurance of doing nothing but posing on their two feet in tight fortitude, their captain finally gave the word to move. An influx of relieved sighs could be heard in unison as everyone began to walk away. The superior lead everyone to a small building where every kind of training weapons had been stored for them. Surprisingly enough, those weapons actually held great similarity to those made by Oscar's father a few years ago. The captain ordered his trainees to pick a weapon of their choice for the following training. Oscar quickly grabbed one of those training wooden lances. It was quite a blow to him, as most of his teammates chose lances as well, even though it was clearly stated that axes were more powerful than any melee weapons. Maybe the captain's explanation on the balance of the power and skill had an effect in their decision.

When everyone got their own weapon, each of them were to choose a sparring partner for some improvised combat. Their goal in this new practice was simply to strike down their adversary on the ground with their weapon without trying to do much damage (of course, this was only training, no need to hurt a companion). If someone was to be injured in any disquieting way, the healers in training would take care of it and practice their own budding skills.

Random chance had given Oscar one of his roommates as his first partner, and also one of the oldest of the trainees, a young man named Martin. Oscar had gotten to know a little more about the new recruits, and this guy was the one he was most familiar to. Martin flashed a smirk before speaking. "So, you said your father trained you before you came here, didn't you?" Oscar simply nodded. "Then I'd like to test my abilities on a more experienced person!" he added with his wooden sword ready, pointing at him. Oscar returned the same smile at him, readying his lance. He was about to see if his training sessions with his father were truly fruitful.

At least fifteen minutes of clashes went by. Another defeated squire fell under the axe of the self-proclaimed infamous red-haired young man, that excited boy named Kieran. His weird, extremely confident behavior and his hair color had given him the nickname of "Red". As he stood victoriously before his freshly conquered opponent, pointing his axe at him with proud fervor, he yelled gloriously, glimmering eyes absorbing the sky. "Ah-ha! Five victories in a row, zero defeat! Tremble before my strength, weakling! No one can defeat the great future legendary knight Kieran!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure…" the defeated boy replied, visibly annoyed by the arrogant and whimsical speech of his red haired partner. Slowly, he stood up and scanned his surroundings, trying to spot the guy he was searching for. "Why don't you try your skills against that guy over there?" he suggested to Kieran, pointing toward the guy he had spotted.

Curiously, Kieran examined the direction his partner was pointing. "Huh? Who are you talking about?"

"You know, that squinty boy. He has successfully defeated all his opponents as well."

"Oh, really…" Kieran murmured, stealing a spying glance of that green-haired young man in question. He carefully observed his ways of wielding the weapon, and he seemed to be quite skilled. "That's right! Then he'll be my next foe! Will his lance be able to best my powerful axe? Ha! Never!"

Then he rushed towards his next opponent, even more thrilled to find someone worthy of sparring him. The beaten guy watched him as he ran away and sighed. "Ah man, sometimes I wish he would shut up a little…"

Oscar had just defeated his sixth adversary in a row, a shy guy named Paul, also one of his most acquainted roommates. Amicably, the young man caught his partner's arm and helped him get up. "You were great, Paul!" Oscar gently sent him. Paul thanked him for his good manners and flicked the dust off his armor.

"Say, Oscar, you really know how to fight! Clearly someone helped you before you came here! Who taught you that?"

The other man felt a little uneasy. "Let's say my father had some good experience in this field."

"YOU!" Oscar and Paul jolted out of shock at this explosive shout nearby. They simultaneously turned to where the cry came from, only to see that infamous red haired guy, Kieran.

Not realizing to whom Red was addressing, both of the confused young men pointed their hand on themselves and asked in unity: "Me?"

"Not you!" Kieran howled, pointing at Paul, to his great relief. This boisterous newcomer ardently approached Oscar, much to his total discomfort. "Yes, you! I'm challenging you to a duel!"

The young Oscar fixed his sight on Kieran for a while before sending him a smile. "All right, then, if you insist. Let's fight!" Oscar positioned himself with his lance ready. He seemed to be a little amused by the eccentricity of his new partner. Paul decided to ignore them and leave them to find a new opponent.

Obviously, Kieran was the first to run to his foe, expressing the best battle cry he could muster, with his axe above his head, ready to strike. He almost threw himself with his weapon to reach his adversary, but Oscar dodged his axe's path by jumping to the side. Kieran quickly pulled up the weapon and tried another strike, but its weight slowed down his next shot, giving time for his foe to duck it once again. The red-haired teenager could feel some muscular pain in his shoulder after that attack, but he decided to ignore it, keeping up with his determination. From behind, Oscar tried a lance knock, but failed as Kieran stopped his attack with his axe.

"Red" dashed forward for another go, but as he heavily swung down, still missing his opponent and having his axe stuck in the ground, "Squinty" took this opportunity to block the other's weapon by pressing his lance against the axe from above, leaving a speck of a chance for his enemy to get up. Quickly, he raised the lance, striking Kieran's chin from underneath, which damaged him and made him fall backwards. Oscar had won.

The red-haired trainee immediately retracted back onto his feet, sweating from the pressure. He couldn't believe it. He tore at his hair out of impulsive anger. Suddenly, Oscar felt sorry for winning and sighed remorsefully.

"No, that's impossible!" Kieran cried out, all his confidence lost in this little fight. "I was the best! I couldn't have been beaten by… this inexperienced delinquent!" Seeing the other wouldn't say anything, he approached him in a scary manner, like he was going to burst into fiery bits. "That's it! Your name! I must acknowledge your name! What is it?"

Shyly, from this unusual reaction, Oscar could only scratch his head and duly answer. "Hm. I'm Oscar… and you must be Kier-"

"All right, Oscar!" Kieran interrupted, with some extra emphasis on his name, then pointed at him heatedly. "I shall remember that name, Oscar, and don't you forget: I, the great future legendary knight Kieran, will be your rival, as you have proven yourself to be the only one worthy of my strength! If you ever forget my name, I shall use all that is in my full power to make you remember again!" Immediately after, he left him hastily, trying to find another opponent that could possibly compare to Oscar's show.

Open-mouthed, Oscar watched him run from where he stood. Some other trainees were witnessing their fight with scornful laughs. The green-haired teenager sighed again, exasperated. "_Hm, the great future legendary knight Kieran…_" he thought. "_Where did he get that idea?_"

O_o_O_o_O_o_O_o_O_o_O

Anna took a careful look at the wooden sword Boyd had delivered earlier. She was holding it between her tiny fingers and considered trying some random moves with it. Boyd, feeling the urge surface to tell her how wrong she was swinging her weapon, slapped his forehead. "No, no, no, Anna! That's not how it works! Check it out! You have to do it that way…" He took her weapon and made some skilled spins with it several times. Anna was so much impressed by this that she hysterically slapped her hands together, which gave a spurt of pride to the little boy.

"Wow, I didn't know you were so good! Your father taught you all of that?"

"Yup, and I greatly improved the technique!" he exclaimed arrogantly with an inch of lie in his voice, though Anna couldn't really see it at this point. With those words, he brandished his sword in his most epic mimicry to the sky.

Boyd gave the weapon back to Anna. She then observed it more carefully. She turned to the boy. "So…" she hummed, not so sure of what to do anymore. "How do we begin?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, um… how did your father teach you how to use a weapon?"

Suddenly, Boyd couldn't say a thing as he kept an eye on the emptiness. He was trying to remember the first training he had, but he couldn't.

"Boyd?"

He jolted. He scratched his head a little out of shame. "Hm… I don't really know…" He grabbed his wooden axe, looked at it then pointed it to the front, not particularly spotting anything. He was still reflecting on how his father began that first fight with his brother. He tried some random moves until he noticed a stray cat watching them not too far. For his own fun, as did many kids of his age, he wanted to scare it, so he rushed to the animal with his axe ready to attack. As he expected, the cat ran away with a furious hiss.

It was at this very moment when he snapped. Of course! That first training day, his father had asked Oscar to attack him, which was in vain obviously because his father simply stopped his son's attack with another attack.

"Oh yeah! I remember!" He turned to the young girl and straightened up before her, putting his two hands pompously on his hips. "Now, try and attack me!" he exclaimed with confidence.

Anna wasn't really sure if this game was such a great idea, after all. She didn't want to hurt him. "But, Boyd! Will you be hurt?"

"Of course not! Don't worry! I'll just stop your attack, you'll see!" he crowed.

Seeing the self-assured look on her friend, Anna nodded positively to show she was ready to attack. She rushed at him with her wooden sword swaying in the air. Boyd was standing ready to avoid the hit, but he suddenly got lost in his scattered thoughts related to that first training day with his brother. Unfortunately for him, it gave him absolutely no chance to evade the heavy strike dealt to his head.

Immediately, he met the ground face-first, putting his hands on his skull nervously and rolling like an idiot across the land with tears spewing from his clamped eyes. Anna dropped her weapon, horrified at what she had just done, and she placed her two hands over her lips with round eyes. "Oh no! Boyd! Are you all right?" she cried out in her fearful approach.

Realizing how ridiculous he looked, Boyd suddenly stopped to turn around and release his head. He opened his eyes and stood up quickly as if nothing had happened. Though there were clearly traces of tears amid his reddened eyes, he gave his friend a nice huge grin while doing the same heroic pose. "Huh? Of course everything's fine! Ha! How could a little hit like that hurt this rocky head? Never! To be a good fighter, you also have to be able to resist hits you receive!"

"I think so…" Anna could only say, still ashamed.

Boyd still had that big grin on until his friend turned to the opposite direction for some thoughts. As soon as Anna couldn't see Boyd from her point of view, the boy took his head under his hands again and began to silently moan in pain. Unfortunately for him, the girl noticed his idiot pose. "Boyd!" she cried, with a hint of both anger and regret. "You just told me it didn't hurt! You liar!"

"I… was just messing with you, of course!" he exclaimed, releasing his head and stood with his proud pose again. At that moment, the pain on his head started to fade away, which relieved him.

"Really…" the little girl murmured, not so sure anymore, but she decided to trust him, since he was her friend. "So, what else?"

"Hm… Well… Dad said that axes are the strongest, lances are weaker, and swords are even weaker."

"What?!?" Anna shouted, absolutely horrified to learn that her favorite weapon was the weakest of the entire weapon triangle. "But why? If swords are the weakest, then why do they even exist?"

Little Boyd graced a hand on his chin, taping it gently, thinking. "Well, I have no idea…"

Anna wasn't very happy about that…

OoOoOoOloveISboringBLAblaBLAblaOoOoOoO

Few weeks flew by since his departure from Nabu, and Oscar had already been used to his new life as a recruit in training. Some of his comrades had left the place; most of them found it too hard to handle such severe circumstances, as they weren't physically tough enough. Oscar didn't find all of this too difficult. Not only was his pay as a recruit that bad (and he had already sent his first pay with a nicely written letter to his family), but conditions were a little better than his old life: everyone was fed twice a day (though the food wasn't that good, but at least it turned out decent), they were allowed one shower at each end of the day, and they could all sleep in their very own bed.

Indeed, they were all sharing a room with a dozen others; guys and girls were in different rooms for obvious reasons, and it didn't really bug our young man. All of his comrades were very nice actually, even if some had their flaws and most of them were quite surprised by our squinting teenager. He would expect them to relate his condition to a handicap, but instead, overlooked that factor. Instead, they were more impressed by the fact he had already acquired evident skill with weapons. Of course, his physical appearance couldn't go on unnoticed, and he was known by his friends and others as the "Squinty one", in an amiable manner of course. Since no one had ever teased him for those eyes, he didn't really mind that nickname, and besides, most people already had their own nicknames coined by now.

That day, at the end of the afternoon, the captain decided to organize a fun "game" to reward the remaining recruits: the entire knights-in-training were divided into two big groups. That training, they said, was relatively similar to a regular training, except that for this time around the loosing team will have to cook for all the trainees. The goal was simply to make all the opponents fall on the ground on a large battlefield by using their training weapons. The losers were to draw out of the battle and wait on a bench until their whole team either lost or won.

Since no one really wanted to cook, no one wished to lose this fight.

In case of injury (as it could be counted on for sure), all the healers-in-training were to save their teammates' skins, even if their injury racked up to just a few pitiful scratches. As their captain had cautioned, "You can never be too careful."

Fanny, the good friend Oscar had met in the line on their first day in Melior, was with them. The young man could distinguish her from afar, and gave her a smile and a nod. In return, Fanny did the same.

At his own dismay, because of their somewhat premature talent apart from the others, the "Squinty" Oscar had been assigned as boss of his group, and the "Red" Kieran the boss of his team. While Oscar didn't like the idea of leading a group, Kieran wasn't daunted by it in the slightest, since it gave him an air of importance.

Since Oscar was the leader of his team, after the two groups separated, all his teammates approached him to formulate a plan of action. "Elder Martin" could feel a little jealous for having a younger member as the leader, but deep down he couldn't deny the fact that the green haired teenager was better than him. "So, boss! Tell us what to do!" he dared Oscar, a sarcastic tone rising from his voice. "You must have an idea in mind, don't you?"

The green-haired young man never really had a sense of leadership, save for being the big brother of two younger siblings he was often obligated to "lead around in life", but as the captain told the trainees earlier, that was a sense that could be acquired with experience alone. He was lost in his thoughts, trying to pick out what to tell his teammates. "Hm… well, first off, we should consider the weapon triangle, don't you think?"

One of the girls of the team came. "That's right! Remember, the axe beats the lance, the lance beats the sword, and the sword beats the axe! Using the triangle is the key to victory!"

The leader sent her a smile in agreement. "Well, I guess that summarizes it all."

Martin, still stuck on his envy, tried to squeeze a contradiction into his plan. "If axes beat out the lance, then how does that Red guy keep losing to you? Not only is he skilled, but he only uses axes!"

With his legendary serenity, Oscar replied, "Power isn't the only thing to consider. Obviously, skill is also a key player in battle. The balance of all of them together is the true key to victory."

Another of their teammates mockingly giggled at the older guy; he clearly suspected his spite. "Haha! Owned!"

The young man simply let out a "Pah!" before standing up straighter, his arms firmly crossed in some incipient anger, not saying another word.

"We should wait for the captain's signal before we advance." Oscar began. "Move to your position! Remember the triangle, and if you're not too sure, find your opponent by their weapon!"

On the other side…

"So, boss, anything to say?"

Kieran received chills at the sound of 'boss', knowing his teammate was addressing him. "Of course! All you have to do is to rush full-speed and _charge_ at the enemies; then you take them out!"

"But what about strategy?"

"Bah! You search for the weakest of your enemies! Let them be out first!"

"I think we should consider the weapon triangle, shouldn't we?"

"What's that?" some random boy asked.

"What? Incompetent, insolent fool!" the red-haired guy shouted. "How can you forget the most basic basics of combat?"

"Sorry, boss!" the other boy added with a scornful tone.

The boss then pointed his axe forward with an ambitious fervor. "So, take your position! We will wait for the captain's signal!"

Seeing that both teams were ready on the battlefield, the captain finally gave the signal to begin the fight. The recruits confidently made their advance with a war cry, thinking of the sumptuous banquet they might partake in after the battle.

Oscar could already spot Kieran rushing at him like a rabid animal. Evidently, "Red" tried his best to reach the biggest prey first. His green-haired opponent prepared his lance until the unexpected happened before his eyes.

En route towards his enemies, Kieran unwarily tripped on the way there and clamored hard upon the ground.

"Soldier Kieran, you're out!"

The newly defeated boy couldn't believe his luck. This moment could have been the gaping doorway to reclaiming the glory he wanted so badly, and he just lost it to an idiotic mistake. "H-How could this happen?" he roared, absolutely disgusted. "Impossible! No distraction could possibly do this to the great future legendary knight Kieran! No! Aaaaaaaargh!!!" He clipped the end of his words with a cry after standing up like a madman and walked toward the bench of the defeated in shame, spouting silent curses on the way.

Reassured by the sudden elimination of his "rival", Oscar could now focus on the rest of the opposite team. One of his opponents ran after him with her axe ready to strike. Oscar dodged the blow and whacked her in the back. The girl fell to the ground. "One down…" he thought a little pompously.

He kept running and noticed Martin on the ground with his adversary standing arrogantly before him. Oscar took the advantage of this distraction in order to make the other guy fall, which made the older one burst out laughing. As the green-haired young man moved away from them, Martin pointed at his enemy with a grin. "Haha! Defeated by Squinty!"

The other simply added, "Pretty darn skilled for being so squinty…"

After a while, more and more trainees fell to the bench, and soon, only four were still standing on the battlefield: Oscar and three enemies. Of course, three against one was a lost match.

On his side, Kieran observed the scene. His frustration started to fade after realizing his team had been victorious. "What?" he exclaimed, with a fist up to the sky heroically. "Victory is really ours? Ha! I knew it! We are the champions! We are invincible! Hurrah! Hurrah!"

One of the members of his teammate couldn't restrain herself from adding, with some antipathy, "Invincible? You were the first one to fall…"

Obviously, Kieran's rage suddenly rose a few levels. "Lies! That was… random chance!"

The girl only threw him a smile, apparently proud to have given some effect on the young, excitable man, and listening to how he made no sense at all. "You were still the first one, heh…"

Another added more enthusiastically, "And you know what? We aren't the ones who have to prepare supper today! Oh, happy day!"

And then, all the members of the victorious team started to cheer before the defeat of the other team, whose members let out a long, woeful sigh of despair.

Several healers came to Oscar, visibly a little hurt after being beaten by three adversaries at the same time, but nothing too harsh. Fanny was with him, approaching with her staff held over the green haired boy, chanting her newly learned incantation so that her friend can be fully healed. She began to laugh as the young man sat up. "Haha! Oscar, at least you did the best you could! But now your team will be chefs this evening!"

Oscar brushed some of the dust off his armor as he stood up, and after he was fully erect, watched the other team as they all jumped out of joy. He began to smile. It was so weird: there was such a warm outcome that spread over him after a defeat, seeing people so happy. "Well, it was either us or them. Anyway, the game was pretty fun, wasn't it?" Truthfully, the idea of cooking for the other team didn't really displease him, as cooking always made him relaxed.

On the other hand, he didn't expect to cook food for so many hungry mouths.

"So, how many people do we have to feed?" he asked, with all of his teammates in the kitchen.

"Hm…" Paul, another teammate, started to count on his fingers. "We are thirty-three guys and eighteen girls, so that made us… forty-one, no?"

"Fifty-one, actually…" another corrected him.

"Damn it! That's even more than I thought!"

A girl made her advance, her arms crossed. "So, who knows how to cook here? As for myself, I don't know… It's shameful to say that my father has always been the one to cook in my family!"

In unison, many of the trainees answered with some "Neither do I…" Each fixed their sight on each other trying to spot at least someone who might be able to help the situation. The silence ruled the kitchen until one certain squinty boy answered with some hesitation in his voice.

"I know how to cook, but…"

Everyone turned to him with shiny sparkles in their eyes.

"Really?" the same girl exclaimed. "So there he is! We have a chef here! Tell us what to do, Chef, and we'll do it! Make us cook such a wonderful supper that we'll never forget how good it tasted so long as we live!" Everyone appeared eager to follow his orders.

Oscar sighed. Not only had he been named leader of his team in the game, but now he had become the head chef of the entire kitchen. "Well, all right…" he added a little shyly.

A few hours had passed. The victorious team members were impatiently waiting in their (not-so-luxurious) dining room for the famous supper courtesy of their knights-in-training friends. They were discussing what they were going to eat. Will it be good? Will it be disgusting? Whatever they would wind up eating, it would probably be better than the food they always got from their usual cooks.

Soon, one member of the cooking team emerged from the kitchen, a huge grin on her face, shouting, "Supper's ready!"

There was a long silent moment as the not-so-real-cooks started to come to the dinning room. As soon as they smelled the food's aromas, their blood simply piqued. "_What a delicious_ _smell!_" they thought. Each plate looked awfully succulent. What could we say about five perfectly roasted turkey with fine herbs and stuffed with warm nuts, five huge plates of pasta with delicious tomato sauce, five gigantic vegetable sautéed drowning in a sweet and salted sauce, and fifty-one delicious boiled potatoes with a light taste of salt and green onions, each of them coming with a little square of garlic butter? It seemed the king of Crimea was really generous with the supply to his army, with all the efforts given by his training troops.

Each one of them drooled, as they couldn't contain their hunger anymore. While the losers sat down with the winners, everyone waited for at least someone to begin. Clearly it hadn't taken long before someone jumped on the food. Then, the feast had officially begun.

"Oh Goddess!" one shouted, extremely enthusiastic. "It's the best supper I've had in years! Whose idea was this?"

The young girl who announced supper earlier took the speech. "We did it all together, but you should thank our chef Oscar for all those wonderful dish ideas!"

Hearing that name immediately left out the fun Kieran was enjoying after the defeat of the other team. With clenched fists, he violently slammed them on the table. It actually scared Oscar. "What?!?" the young red-haired man exclaimed with a completely sickened face, fixing the emptiness with his sight. "No! Not only does he beat me on the battlefield, but in culinary feats as well? Impossible!" It was fortunate that the food was so good, because the whole one-sided rivalry thing started to disappear from his thought process as he was drowning, along with everyone else, in the best feast they had since the last they could remember.

Indeed, it made the young squinty one all shy, that is until the feast ended with lots of rewarding beverages, beers and wine.

After much an exciting day, Oscar returned to his room with his excitable comrades (having a little fun after some alcohol effects). It wasn't the best of rooms he could live in, but now that he thought about it, he couldn't wait to lay his tired body on his little wooden bed, ready to drown in the small world of dream and glory. His drowsiness suddenly transgressed into curiosity when he noticed an envelop and a tiny bag of candies on his pillow. Finally; his first letter from Nabu! How grateful he was to finally know how his family had been doing over his absence!

He smiled as he took the candies. That was surely Boyd's idea since he loved candies so much (like all children, anyway). He carefully put them on his bedside table and took a knife to tear the top of his envelop apart. He carefully removed the paper inside. With a hand holding the letter and the other holding a candle to see better, he ignored all the noises his happy friends were making and began to read this piece of paper as if his lovely family were by his side right then.

"_Dear Oscar,_

_How are you? This is Mina here. We were happy to learn about your success into entering the trainees and we encourage you to continue._

_Your father keeps working, as always, but he can't wait to see you. He even mentioned that if you ever come back here one day, please come with your signed Crimean armor and your horse."_

The young man slightly smiled at the idea of going back home with armor and a mount. First, coming home would mean vacation, and vacation should not be a parade, after all. It would give him a pretentious look, though he didn't have much problem with it. To add, he still didn't have any kind of horse yet, but who knew; maybe soon he'd have one.

"_Boyd misses you a lot, but he'd rather see you succeed. I can't even tell you how happy he looked when Mister Hennesty came back into town without you, meaning you were officially with the recruits. And did you know he's made a new friend? Her name is Anna, a little girl of his own age who'd like to become a knight like you."_

Anna. Why did that name remind him of a pleasant souvenir? Indeed, he suddenly felt chills at the remembrance of that children's tale about a mercenary named Boyd and a knight named Anna, the same old story in which he found the name for his brother. He started to laugh silently in his lonely corner, realizing how such a coincidence could be so… coincidental.

"_And what could be said about Rolf? I think he misses you a lot as well. He seems to cry a little more often, and he certainly misses your food."_

The teen sighed in amusement. It was quite true: the cooking of his stepmother weren't the tastiest meals he had eaten, but unlike Boyd, he had never dared to admit it before her since he wanted to encourage her as much as possible.

"_I do have bad news, though, about Mister Hennesty."_

Bad news? _Oh no_, he thought, but he continued to read for the sake of learning what was to come, his thin eyes scrolling slowly, trying to hide his shaky hands from the following story.

-----

So it began about a month ago, a day when his father Nova finally had his day off from his job. He had decided to take a walk in the market with his son, Boyd. On their way, they caught sight of three armed horsemen rushing toward them, then sweeping by swiftly as the wind, with their loot behind each one of them. Boyd was impressed; with such huge bags and weapons, they must be some kind of risk-taking adventurers searching for another adventure across the continent. Well, that was what he thought, anyway. Nova smiled at his son's imagination.

On the road, they crossed the store of their old friend, Mister Hennesty, so they decided to visit him.

Such a sight was waiting for them.

Horror reigned supreme inside the bookstore. All the tomes and books were strewn across the floor and on the shelves; all the papers flew in the air in a creepy and unusual silent air. It was after searching for a specific individual that Boyd faced an exhibit that would freeze his veins solid: there, in the back of the store, laid the almost lifeless body of the old man, fighting for his life in his own pool of blood, caught in the middle of the mess, struggling to reach the elixir that was too far for him to get in his dying state. Boyd was still standing in his spot, too scared to move. Nova was accustomed to this type of spectacle, so he did not stay grounded. Immediately he rushed in a worried manner to Hennesty. The father quickly reached the elixir and stuffed its warm content between the old man's lips.

"Hennesty, answer me!" Nova desperately shouted after giving the elixir. "Are you all right? What happened?"

He was waiting for the healing liquid to take over and mend all of the old man's wounds, but unfortunately, nothing happened. It seemed the wounds were too severe to be closed. "Nova… three bandits… came here too… suddenly…" Hennesty replied with a very weak voice.

In an extremely revolting manner, Nova cursed silently, his fists firmly clamped together in anger. The three cavaliers from earlier were actually the bandits that had attacked him. If only he had known… maybe then he could have done something. His anger faded away as his attention returned to Hennesty.

Suddenly, a weird grin appeared slowly on his dying face. "But that's all… right… I'll see… Nadia there…" After hurling blood from his mouth, he added, "Tell her… gr-grandson to… succeed…"

-----

"_So it is unfortunate that we have lost such a nice man in our town. Many people came to pray for him, and we gave ours as well_."

Thoughtful, Oscar lowered his head with his letter. He couldn't hide the pain anymore at the prospect of never going to see his old friend who had taught him so many wonderful things: about the world of Tellius, of its people, of its life. He was the one who had helped him when he was in need of a job despite everything, the one who was a friend with everyone he met, the one who had gave him the chance to come to the capital so he could fulfill his dream of becoming a knight.

Not truly aware of his surroundings anymore, he barely noticed a voice crying out for his attention.

"Oscar, you squinty coward! Come here! I challenge you to a duel!" How the heck did that red-haired knight enter the room, anyway? The cause had to most definitely be one of his drunken roommates, opening the door to welcome in just about any kind of stranger. Kieran's shouting was so loud that everyone, including Oscar himself, finally turned to him silently, watching him without a word. Silence was broken again by the agitated young man, so devoted to his speech no one could tell if he was drunk or not. "So, miserable cur, are you impressed by my sudden ambition? Do you tremble before my own stature? Are you already admitting your eventual defeat against me? Ha! You face the great future legendary knight Kieran!"

Usually, the green haired young man would reply with collected words, but this time, he simply didn't say anything and turned the opposite direction. Noticing that his supposed rival refused to react at all, Kieran prepared to think of another committed speech boasting his greatness until a more sober guy came to him, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Kieran, leave him alone. Don't you see he isn't feeling right at the moment?"

"I- I…" was all Kieran could spit out before his rival, annoyed, heavily laid down his head on his pillow, his face still facing the emptiness. At the same time, he abruptly put down his letter on his bedside table. The eccentric young man, suddenly sympathetic about the situation, noticed the letter and started to understand what might have happened.

Even though the image he was projecting in front of everyone seemed a little bit idiotic, Kieran was bright enough to leave the room, leaving his friend drowning alone in his sadness. The other roommates did the same as they returned to the pillow fight they were enjoying themselves in just before that other guy entered their room. After all, sometimes it was better to leave people alone in their grief, as time appeared to be the only remedy that cured depression of that magnitude.

As heartbreaking as he appeared at the moment, Oscar never shed a single tear. He wanted to stay strong, because it was his duty as a future knight to be able to hide any unruly emotions before his comrades. They would only get in the way.

_I ended this chapter here because, once again, it was getting awfully long._

_Well, WTF, making teenagers drink? WELL, my guess is that if people can get in the army so young (then risking their own young lives) in the world of Fire Emblem, the legal drinking age should be younger as well_ XD

_About the whole story about Boyd, his daddy and the old man, well, it's not written in the letter, of course! Why would someone put all the whole details in a letter? It's just some flashback effects… I guess it didn't work…_ :(

_Also, I'm sorry for killing the OC. If you liked him, well… I'm sorry_ ;_; _(but I guess as long as I don't kill the canon characters, it's fine _:p _)_ _And sorry to bring the emotional stuff back, it will be a bit happier next chapter, don't worry_ ;_;

_Thank you again for reading!_ :D


	8. Promotion

_Again, let's deeply thanks the wonderful _**_Angelicakes/Angela_**_ for her awesome part for the beta part and editing for a ton better reading!_ :'D

_Hum, more emo events, but that will quickly be remedied! The first part is kind of sad but cute at the same time, trust me _:p

_Oh AND I'M SORRY FOR THE LATE! College is totally killing my time, so yes :C I have PERMANENT final projects the WHOLE semester. As soon as we're done with one, we get another one, and so on, and that's for EVERY SINGLE CLASSES. But now that I have my own laptop, I have hours of free times each week when I take the train on my way to college! I hope updates are getting quicker now!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Fire Emblem and its characters. Intelligent Systems and Nintendo own them._

**Chapter 8: Promotion**

It was on a misty morning that Boyd hung around Mina while she was writing a letter to his older brother. He kept stealing glimpses of her paper and telling her what to write in it. "Oh, and don't forget to tell him about my adventure in the woods! And the thing about the monster in the swamp! And don't forget the story with the stray cat and…"

"Sure, sure…" Mina interrupted, visibly annoyed by his nudging behavior. "Now go play with Rolf; you're irritating me."

Boyd sighed. "But Rolf's sleeping…"

Suddenly, they heard a light knock at the door, so soft that it could be mistaken for a gale passing through the boards. "I'll go open the door!" the boy exclaimed, all excited. It was not often they got visitors aside from their new elderly neighbors, who were a bore. The young boy's excitement started to fade into uneasiness as he discovered who stood behind the door. Little Anna it was, with a face dabbled wet by tears, her lips drawn into a frown that concealed her gritting teeth.

"B-Boyd…"

"Anna? What are you doing here?"

And then the young girl did something the boy was not expecting at all: She threw herself into his arms for a long and desperate hug, her warm tears staining the confused boy's tunic. He had no idea what was happening.

"Boyd! I need your help!" Uncontrolled sobs followed immediately after.

"Huh?" was all that the young boy could utter before giving her some reassuring pats. He worked up his guts and then asked, "What's happening? Why are you crying?"

Still sobbing, Anna sniffled before she continued. "It's mom… She doesn't like me anymore…"

The environment practically resonated with confusion. Boyd was quite surprised by the revelation, as he knew her mother as a very loving one, always taking care of her as if she were the most precious diamond in the world. "Why doesn't she love you?"

Her sobs grew. "She's giving me a new daddy! But I don't want a new daddy! Mine is dead, but… I don't want another one! And… he looks so mean!"

Feeling the distress taking place in her home, Mina finally came to them and tried to calm the little girl. "Anna, why are you sad?" she asked, trying to put on the most comforting look she could. "It's your mom, isn't it? Tell me what's wrong. I'm a good friend to your mother." Indeed, Mina and Anna's mother became good friends since the friendship between the kids.

But Anna returned to her unstoppable sobs and burrowed deeper into the embarrassed boy's arms. "Um, how can I say this…" Boyd murmured a little shyly.

"Anna said that her mom doesn't love her anymore and that she's giving her a new dad…"

Mina realized just how much this tale resembled her own experience with Boyd a few years ago, when her husband introduced her to his two sons.

"If you want, sweetheart, we'll speak with your mother, all together. I don't want to see you with such a sad face!"

A small ray of hope shone in the eyes of the crying child. "Truly? Are you going to help me, Miss?"

"Of course- everything in the world to make your bright smile come back to your beautiful fac-"

A howl cut them all off. Rolf was waking up, and he needed someone to take care of him. Regretfully, Mina laid her eyes on Anna. "I'm sorry, Anna. Rolf's calling me. I'll come later…" she said before rushing to the howling baby, leaving Boyd alone with the girl.

The shine in her eyes quickly dove under the retreat of a fresh sheet of sad tears. This overwhelming display of emotions gave Boyd the urge to flee from the situation entirely, but he knew he couldn't leave his friend alone in her grief. It just didn't seem right. "Hm… Anna? If you want, I'll come with you, all right?"

And another hope sparkled in her heart once again. "Really? You'd do it? For me?"

"Sure! You're my friend!" the boy proudly exclaimed with uplifted posture, glad to have raised her mood without even having to do anything, really.

"Yay! Thanks, Boyd!" Anna jumped out of joy and vivaciously took his hand, leading him outside his house. "You'll say everything to Mom, okay?"

"_Damn it!"_ Boyd thought, regretting his decision. "_How will I talk with an adult about such a complicated matter?"_

The road to Anna's house was trekked in total silence, evolving into a gloomy mute as they approached their destination. Once they finally got there, they could see the young mother sitting in front of her door with distress marked across her face. As soon as she noticed the two kids, she turned to them. "Anna…" the mother lowly murmured. Her eyes were even more reddened by tears than Anna's.

"Mom…" Anna began. Boyd, thinking everything was going to be in vain, started to slowly step away. "Mom! Why are you giving me a daddy? We were all right, just the two of us!"

"Oh, my little Anna… You can't understand… You're so young, and I as well… If only you knew…"

"I'm a big girl now!" she cried, verily insulted to know that her mother still saw her as a kid (which, in truth, she was). "You can tell me everything!"

Anna returned to Boyd. Clearly he didn't know what to do except stay there watching the tears fall. He eyed the mother, raising his shoulders in confusion, bearing neutrality against the situation. Actually, his defensive posture made the mother smile a little. She must be thinking about how awkward the scene was to him. Unfortunately, the smile didn't last. The boy looked around him, and soon enough he could see a man standing beyond the window, inside the house. He realized he must be the "new daddy" who caused this whole string of chaos, but if he really was, why wasn't he coming outside to help the situation himself? "_C'mon, Boyd! Think! What would you do? Think… think…"_

And then, he tried. "Hey, Anna, I have to tell you something."

A bit of relief took over the little girl. She had been waiting for the moment the boy would talk., and finally, the moment arrived. "You remember when I told you Mina wasn't my mom? Only Rolf's mom and my dad's new wife?" Anna and her mother were all ears. "Well, you know what my big brother used to tell me? He said something like… um… that Mina will never replace our mother, but she was always welcomed in our family, no matter how our blood ties, just like a real friend, right? That's the same thing with that mister behind the window, isn't it? You loved your father, but that man there can still be a part of your family!"

The mother had carefully listened to every word he said and was stunned at how mature his outlook on the subject turned out to be. She realized how wrong she was about her new boyfriend, and that regardless of the amount of love she shared with him, he could never replace her daughter's father. Her lips were still shaking, muttering these words. "Anna, I'm sorry… Boyd is right. Dan will never replace your father, so don't worry about it… But I'm sure he's going to be a great friend to you."

The little girl looked up at her mother. After wiping her last tears, she left the boy and slowly approached her. "Mom… Is it true?" She curled her lips up in a smile at her mother's relief. "Thanks, Mom…"

The young mother slowly rose to her feet and took her daughter in her arms. "Here, come, you want to meet your new friend Dan?" she asked her while opening the door.

"Sure!" the girl said with a little more enthusiasm, and then she turned to her friend. "Boyd, you want to come?"

The boy stretched in embarrassment. He didn't actually want to go meet him, in all honest respect. "Nah, I'll return home so I can finish that letter we're going to send to my brother," he replied, scratching his head.

Before she closed the door, the young mother turned to the boy. She sent a brilliant smile his way. "Thank you for your help, Boyd…"

From outside, through that very same window, he could see the same man from before shaking Anna's hand warmly. Boyd was feeling shy about the whole ordeal, but happy to see that he was able to bring joy back to a whole family.

---LaLaLa---

The end of the day was pretty rough after twelve consecutive hours of harsh training. Decidedly, everything about shaping the recruits into resilient knights was becoming harder and harder, but everyone kept faith in themselves- well, most of them, anyway, as some of them couldn't stand the pressure and decided to leave their dreams of glory behind.

All of the recruits were going to return to their respective room. While everyone gave each other encouraging pats, one certain red haired young man was busy scolding his silent partner. "Oscar! How dare you, you miserable cur! How will I acquire my glory if you're out to take it away from me all the time?"

A few months went by already, and after the departure of quite few trainees, the remaining knights-in-training kept moving to new rooms with other members that equaled their skill level, leaving their old room to the brand new slew of newcomers. Unfortunately for the famous "Squinty Boy", "Red" now shared the same room as him, along with a dozen others. Weirdly enough, the interaction between the two never ceased to amuse their fellow roommates, and they usually laughed at the poor green-haired man because of his fate.

Even through all of this, if it could lighten up their companions' mood, it was completely fine by him. Besides, that excitable boy wasn't that bad as a person, after all. He was one of the most respectable people actually- he had always treated everyone with respect no matter their differences, including him and his infamous squint.

On the way to his room with all the others, Oscar went lost in his thoughts. Now, why did the whole rivalry idea obsess Kieran so much? It wasn't like he was the greatest of their group. While he had been exemplary at the start, many of the other knights had reached their level by now. He realized that even if his "rival" was friends with pretty much everyone in his own way, the boy was so loud and annoying that people couldn't stay near him for more than five minutes without snapping. Due to his calm and easygoing nature, Oscar was one of the very few who could handle all the shouts and curses his friend liked to sporadically produce. Maybe that helped the whole "one-sided rivalry" persist because, when it really boiled down to it, he didn't mind the competition.

After a while, Oscar decided to answer Kieran's shouts. "You still did particularly well during training today, even if I managed to beat you."

Kieran's fury went wilder. "That's exactly my point! You've beaten me yet again! Why are you still stronger than me? I keep training day and night, but you still manage to come out on top! I even have you beat in the weapon triangle department, and I had the best reaver in all of Tellius as my personal teacher! How can your lance best my powerful axe?"

The young man with a squint sighed. He remembered about what Kieran had told everyone about his mother, his unique parent, how she was one of the most "famous" reavers of the country and an unmatchable axe user. She had supposedly served Crimea's royal family until she got pregnant with him (it was unknown who the father was, though). The reaver class of fighters was reputed to rely chiefly on raw power, but not much else. "Well… You only seem to focus on power, and I never see you try to dodge blows, simply put. You prefer to receive the hits and get hurt unnecessarily."

"Ha! We can't get hurt unnecessarily! Not on the battlefield! I'm hard as a rock! I take blows; I resist! I'm a natural born survivor! I keep going until I die!"

Kieran was quite right on one point: no one could possibly avoid every last blow, giving defense and resistance to magic some very crucial importance in a fight. Even if the healers were always treading behind their backs, on a real battlefield, they never knew what could happen.

Everyone was in their room, all excited. It was the day their captain would deliver his verdict on the promotion of some recruits. Each of them was prepared to keep their calm on the eventual calls, as a calm and nice posture was needed to become a good knight, and Oscar possessed both qualities. His friend Paul came to him while he was reading the brand new letter he just got from his family (and kept that amused look on his face regarding those little stories about his little brother; how Boyd loved to exaggerate his tales!). Even though his letters kept repeating the same news over and over, it was always a pleasure to read them. "Hey, Squinty, are you excited?"

Oscar put down his letter on his bedside table and turned to Paul. "Of course, Paul, everyone is! Well, I'm not sure…"

Paul gave him a pat on his back. "How come you aren't sure? See, you're one of the most skilled trainees out of us all! Surely you'll be promoted!"

The young lance knight noticed the slight sadness tinted on the look of his friend. He never dared telling him, nor his companions, but Paul wasn't really a good fighter, at least not for now. While most of them had surpassed their current level, Paul was one of those who couldn't manage to catch up at the same speed. "Oh, but I won't be, for sure!" Paul revealed with a half-smile. "I'll stay with the recruits as long as I need it, even if it's going to take me years!"

Oscar went into admiration for his weaker friend. While most of the less skilled people leave the recruits, this one chose to stay and keep trying. Now, if everyone were as ambitious as he, maybe the world would be a little better than it was now. He wondered himself if he himself would keep trying if he ever failed.

Soon their captain entered their room with a list and some small green ribbons in his hands. All the recruits straightened up in two perfect rows. "My dear knights! I am here today for a particular event, with which you probably know its nature. In fact, some of you are going to move to the next step of your training! I will go after each of you, and those who are getting one of these green ribbons will have to move your things to your new quarters. Congratulations! As for the others, until further notice, you'll stay with the recruits."

After he was done with his speech, he finally began marching toward each of the members, firmly holding his list and his green ribbons. He was carefully checking each of them for a last good measure. He passed before the first one, one of the younger recruits named Ray, a timid boy but also pretty skilled. He stopped in front of him and put one of the ribbons around his neck. "Soldier Ray, congratulations!" The young Ray tried to contain his joy, but he couldn't hide quivering faintly when he gave a proud smile to his captain. Then he went to march up to more and more recruits. Of the eight young men, five got their ribbons. Paul was one of the three others, but he wasn't that deceived. There would always be another opportunity.

It was now Kieran's turn. There was a hint of sweat accumulating on his forehead, not out of nervousness, but from extreme confidence. He almost jumped in ecstatic celebration after the captain gave him his ribbon. Next up was Martin, now the oldest of all the recruits. While he was one of the more skilled ones, he was still a bit behind some of them, namely Red and Squinty. Jealousy would constantly take him over those who were younger but stronger than him, but right now, nothing mattered as he finally got his ribbon.

Now he was coming, finally, in Oscar's direction. Even though he was prepared for this, his hands were shaking in happiness as the ribbon was put around his neck. His hard work turned out to be fruitful after all. Once the ceremony was done, everyone was giving handshakes and encouraging pats on the back. The ones who had not gotten their ribbon still smiled as the others nicely cheered them on for better luck next time. A warm, gentle ambiance surrounded the room.

After minutes went by, all the men with a ribbon were marching toward a huge stable. When they stopped in front of the building, they could hear several neighs coming from there. All freshly promoted knights were excited about the prospect of never having to work alone, but with a new partner, a faithful mount. They were praying to get the most beautiful and quickest of the steeds. With them, they would surely form a better team. Soon a few men came into view, each of them holding a leash in their hands, and behind them appeared huge, majestic, and athletic horses. Finally, they could see their new partners.

Martin got a great black stallion. His imposing and magnificent posture meshed quite well with his proud personality. Kieran got a brown horse, one that seemed a little agitated, but it didn't upset Kieran at all, as this was exactly the kind of beast he wanted to ride: one that would give him a nice challenge.

While everyone was trying to meet their new partner, Oscar gently stroked his mare's splendid mane. His hands were almost shaking with delight. "You are a beautiful girl!" he told her gently. The mare whinnied happily. Maybe with time, he would be able to interpret his horse's emotions. He listened to his companions giving names to their new friends, and thought he should do the same to give her a little more personality. What was a good name for a girl? He tried to think of names he remembered in some of his old books, like the one he used to read to Boyd. He recalled as he was turning the pages one by one, slowly, enjoying each moment of the stories with a childish passion and recalling each name he could find in them.

But on the other hand, what if his mare already had a name? Wouldn't she prefer to be addressed by the same name she was already used to? Oscar turned to the man who gave him the mount. As he was about to leave the knights with a broken heart, probably after having to leave his beasts, he was gently grabbed by the shoulder by the young training knight. "Hey, mister, I've got a question for you…."

The man in question stopped a moment before looking back at him. He wondered, since when did some random knight address him? After all, he was only there to take care of horses and then renounce them to their fate. "Yes?" the man began with a slightly bothered tone. "Make it quick, boy; I've got more horses to take care of, you know!"

Oscar clearly noticed the frustration in the man, but he kept at it. "I… only want to know the name of this mare. You seem to like these horses, so in return, I want to give her the same care as you gave them, and I think it's a good start to know her name…"

It surprised the man. It was a rare sight, seeing a young prodigy consider these creatures just like a real live being. He calmed down. "You must be the most human of this troop, boy…" the man told him, with his lips slightly curled up. "Since you look like a nice boy, I'll tell you her name. Let me take a look at her." Oscar left the passage so the man could examine the mare carefully. The beast started to stroke her former gently with her snout, and her old master gave her back a good pat. "Reddish-brown mane, brown fur, a patch of white on her forehead, with a visible small scar on the left chest. Well, her name is Lass. That's a nice beast you've got there, young man! You'll like her!"

After this, the squire left the young man with his new mare in tow, sending him a friendly hand sign as he left to rejoin his comrades. "Thank you very much, mister!" Oscar thanked him back.

With a new mount, his life a knight in training would definitely be a little more interesting.

---Ican'tWAITtoBOMBsomeDODONGOS---

Boyd was excited. Not only would his older brother be coming later this day for some well-deserved vacation time, but he was coming with a mount and his armor. Even though he was not yet a full-fledged knight (as a training knight can not be a knight until at least one year of training with a mount), he would be able to brag about his awesomeness to everyone around him.

He remembered how Oscar loved to have the whole house clean, and for a while, no one had time for housekeeping. His father was always working, obviously, and Mina kept taking care of Rolf. When she had free time, she wasn't doing much, as she usually spent it prattling about girly stuff with Anna's mother, as well as her husband Dan (whom Boyd didn't really like because of his somewhat cold behavior towards him). It didn't bug him too much, since he got to see his friend a little more often. To tell the truth, he actually had heaps of free time, but like any child, he'd rather spend it playing outside. Today, he decided that everything was going to be different: he was going to clean the house for Oscar! Since their home wasn't really that big, all he would need was some water from the small river not far from here in the forest and a good, soft rag.

With two pails, the young boy ran to the door without making too much sound, as Mina didn't want to see him going in the forest alone since it was a dangerous place for a kid to wander off. It was better to take advantage of the time when she was passionately reading a book. Sooner or later, little Rolf noticed his brother leaving and, with his two clumsy feet, made an advance toward him with a small laugh, thinking it might possibly be some kind of game.

Boyd sent him back a sigh; he definitely had no time to play right now. "No, Rolf! Go away! I'm just going off to get water! You're bugging me!" The boy put down one pail, and with his free hand, he made a simple move to shoo his little brother away. The baby boy couldn't really get the message and continued toddling toward him with the biggest of smiles. Exasperated, Boyd finally laid down the other pail and grabbed his little brother with both hands, then put him back down on all fours a little further away.

The baby boy took time to get back up on his two feet and turned back towards the direction his brother had been. Boyd was there no more. Sniffles came, then a cry. Boyd could hear it from outside, but he chose to ignore it.

----MaHbOi----

It was an unquestionable fact that the bright, beautiful day attracted so may people to the marketplace, and business went pretty well for every seller of all sorts. The old woman of the nice vegetable stand shouted her best prices for her stock, bragging about their freshness and their healthy size. She could spot in every customer's eyes a shiny sum of gold. After only that one day, her weekly gain was done for her. She smiled at the idea of taking a break after depleting her stock.

As she followed all the potential customers with her eyes, she soon caught sight of a strangely familiar sight- a squinting but proud sight, and after that, curiosity took over her as she blinked at those famous eyes. She noticed the identifiable emerald green hair, a shiny armor with Crimea's emblem, all sitting on a majestic mount decorated with an expensive drape. She then recognized the young man she had made fun of years earlier. Because she kept her eyes on him, the other young man looked back at her, this time with a neutral look.

"_And he went that far?_" the woman thought, astounded.

The city had not changed much since his departure. The streets were as crowded as before, though not as much as the capital itself. He began to laugh in silence, hiding his lips with a hand, thinking about his old peaceful life, the one he lead before he joined the recruits. Everyone stole peeks at him curiously, to see a young man in shining armor on a grand and beautiful mare walking down the streets. Where did this knight come from? What was he doing around here? Was he searching for someone? Something?

A memorable building stood not too far away. Curiously, he took a quick look as he approached it. He dismounted his mare and made some slow steps toward the old shop, the same old place he used to work for a few years. The outside appeared to be quite well-kept like the way he knew it, but he quickly discovered the total chaos inside. The empty shelves were gathering dust, cut up splinters of wood from what seemed like axe strikes lay scattered about, and he could even see a dried flask of blood on the floor. As he couldn't contain the pain that pursued his mind, he ran outside to his mare before turning around a final time.

But soon, the smile came back to him as he glimpsed amid the horizon the little house he was so familiar with, the one he called home, where his family resided.

Holding Rolf, whose face was reddened by tears, Mina gave her stepson a little moral lecture. Boyd ignored the complaints his stepmother gave for having made her son cry.

"You should give your little brother more attention! All he wanted was to play with you!"

The boy could only feel rage. "But… Mina! Why? Why aren't YOU the one taking care of him? It's your son! Not mine! You are his mother! Instead of keeping your eyes on those books, keep your eyes on him!"

The young woman shut herself up after those words. She fearfully realized the truth in them. What was her problem if she chose to ignore her son for a while just so she could read her books? They weren't even that great. Shouldn't her son be her main priority now that she had one? She tried to lead the situation in vain. "Don't get mad, Boyd! You are his big brother! You have your own responsibilities as well!" She wasn't really convincing.

"Yeah!" the boy spat out, angrily. "You're always right! But you're not my mom!" The day began so well and now his good mood had rapidly fallen down. Feeling like he was going to explode, the boy exited furiously from the house, sitting and sulking on the fresh ground, pretending not to hear his stepmom calling him. As soon as he couldn't hear her anymore, he huddled into himself, closing his eyes, drifting in a world of thoughts. How could his family be so stubborn?

If only he remembered again which day it was, maybe he would notice the familiar voice that was gently calling him from behind more quickly. "Hey there, Boyd!"

* * *

_Aw, now that's a boring chapter (to me, and also, shorter than usual). HA! Why is Kieran's horse male and not female to make him cooler (because a male hero with a female horse seems pretty common and epic)? If you have read the Kieran and Marcia supports in PoR, you'll see that Kieran's mount is male as he keeps using "he" and "him" to name his horse. You'll also find out that Kieran actually likes his horse as much as a brother, which is cute._

_About the whole Oscar and Kieran discussion on the way they fight, I'm just taking inspiration of the gameplay itself. If you noticed, in average, Oscar dodges more often, is more speedy, misses less often and activates his skills easily, while Kieran seems to rely much more power and defense (according to their growth stats). HA! I'm such a genius._

_Also, I ended the chapter here because… you know, it would be too long. Also, you must have all guessed who's that man saying « Hi » to Boyd…_ :p

_Thank you for reading!_


	9. Coming Home

_Wow, chapter nine already?__ Never had I written that quick before, not even in French. I thank all my readers, reviewers, and especially Angelicakes/Angela for making this fic more readable and awesome! Thank you! _:'D

_Also, curse the website for cutting those super plot breakers in the middle_ ;_; _And for refusing to keep the underline under some words._

_******Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Fire Emblem and its characters. Intelligent Systems and Nintendo own them._

******Chapter 9: Coming home**

Slowly, the young boy rose his head up and turned to this mysterious yet strangely recognizable voice. He opened his eyes wide as soon as he realized who was behind him. Despite the sun blinding him from the sight of the young man standing in front of him, he immediately recognized the silhouette of the one he had grown up with since the very day he was born.

"Oscar?" the child exclaimed, shaky with joy as he tried to contain his thrill. "Is it really you?" He scrambled to his feet and could now see the full front of this person, elegantly poised in shining armor that gave him the look of a strong man who had seen harsh battles, though his face still exuded the same serenity he was so familiar with before.

"Boyd, it's good to see you again!" the older brother replied while welcoming the younger one warmly in his arms.

"Brother! I missed you!" Boyd exclaimed, squashing him as tightly as he could between his smaller arms. He almost had tears in his eyes, but he wanted to be tough before him, so he tried to hide them with the best boyish strength he could muster. Even so, the oldest brother didn't fail to notice, but continued to play along like he had seen nothing of it.

After a long moment of hugging, Oscar knelt down until he and his brother were at eye level and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Boyd felt a twinge of excitement as soon as his hand made contact with Oscar's grand costume. It was his first time touching authentic royal armor. The sensation was surprisingly comforting. "I missed you too, Boyd. I'm happy to see you again." His mood changed slightly. "But tell me, what were you doing all alone over here? What happened?"

The younger brother could only let out a "Bah!" He didn't want Oscar to know about what just happened: this would give him a bad impression of how the family got along while he wasn't here, and his problems were his last worries at this point. He didn't want to imply there was any kind of problem that wasn't even Oscar's to deal with in the first place. "It's nothing! I just needed to be alone, that's all!" Boyd added with a faked laugh.

Oscar obviously didn't doubt there was a real problem behind this façade, since he had seen Mina and Rolf only a few minutes ago. As expected, Mina had given an answer similar to Boyd's. Nonetheless, he understood his family didn't want to disclose any of these issues, having fear of ruining his little vacation, and he decided to respect their choice. "All right, if you say so…"

The smile returned to the kid's face in the dash of an instant. "Hey, Oscar, I don't know if it's just me, but… did you grow up a little?"

Oscar started to laugh. "Well, maybe!"

"And your voice, it changed a little as well!"

"That's possible… It's what happens when you get older. Look at you! You're much bigger than the last time I laid eyes on you, too. And what about Rolf? His changes are even more obvious! Before I went to the capital, he was a tiny, weak bundle that could barely utter a word, and now, he's grown so much that he can walk on his own two feet! Imagine that…"

"Pah! In my opinion, he's going to stay small all his life!" Boyd joked with a wide, impish grin.

Before these words, even though they weren't actually set factually, the older one became lost in his thoughts. How could Boyd have such little respect for his own sibling?

On a happier note, he turned back to where he came from previously. He told the younger one to follow him. "So, little brother, are you coming? I have a gift for you!"

Boyd jumped ecstatically. Their family wasn't very wealthy, so getting a present was always a rare treat. The day had started out awful, but it kept getting better and better. He followed his brother but couldn't contain every shred of excitement. He beheld the most stunning sight when before him stood a striking and beautiful horse, not too far out of reach. "Woah!" he exclaimed, highly impressed. "Is that your horse?"

While Oscar was searching in one of the big bags hung to his mare's saddle, he replied, "Yes, her name is Lass. She's been my partner for a few months. We're quite good friends, actually!"

Glimmering stars appeared in the younger one's eyes. "Wow! Can I get on her?"

"Before you do, I want to give you this."

The older brother took out a big bronze axe from the bag. More shining lights multiplied by the gleam of the virgin weapon could be seen reflected in Boyd's eyes. Finally, a real axe, and not another wooden training one that was almost in splinters! Seeing the anticipation of the little one, he smiled a little more. "This is a bronze axe. It's not the best kind in term of quality, but it's still nice, isn't it? I know you like axes, so I hope you like this one."

"If I like it? Of course I like it! I'll make sure to use it all the time!" The young boy took it with his tiny hands, but awkwardly made it fall on the ground. For a weapon, it was quite heavy- not what he was expecting.

The older one started to laugh. "Boyd, only use this weapon when you need it, and at this moment, I don't think you can use it. You know how bad it hurts to receive a blow from a real weapon, right?"

"Really?" Obviously, Boyd still had a long way to learn the concept of a weapon's ability to cause serious injury.

While the boy was having fun swinging his new gift around, Mina came out from the shadows, holding her little green-haired baby in her arms. The young woman approached the two brothers. Seeing Boyd's big happy grin gave her her smile back, despite what happened earlier on in the day. As soon as Oscar noticed the mother and her son, he couldn't resist the need to take his youngest brother in his arms and give him a few cuddles. Baby Rolf started to giggle joyfully with the young man he couldn't quite yet recognize, but how he could feel such ease around him remained a mystery to him.

"So, how long are you staying with us, Oscar?" the stepmother asked, feeling like she wanted to melt upon witnessing the cute scene of a young man hugging a little baby.

Oscar stopped a moment and turned to the young mother. "Four days."

Mina jolted with a surprising grimace. "Four days? Didn't you write seven days in your letter?"

Reassuringly, the young man kept his serene smile within his answer. "Yes, seven days; two days for the road from Melior to Nabu, two more days to get back, and four days at home. My captain gave me an extra day for my 'exemplary behavior'."

The stepmother laughed softly. "Exemplary; that sounds just like the old you!" she exclaimed with a pat on his shoulder.

------------

"Is this true? You're going to cook supper today?"

"Yes. If there's anything I can do, then cooking is one of those things. I've had a warm welcome, and in return, I'll cook you something good."

"But aren't you a little tired?"

"Not really. Lass was the one who walked the whole road, not me!"

There was a gentle mocking tone in the oldest brother's voice, mainly to hint to his younger sibling that his mare wasn't just some mount, but his partner as well, a good friend. Needless to say, the two brothers were having fun conversing about everything.

"Haha, really funny, brother…" Boyd spouted out sarcastically with a flimsy laugh, though he soon returned to his doubt. "But seriously, you look tired…"

"Well, if you really think so, then help me make supper."

The child shut his mouth immediately. There was something he particularly hated to do, and it was cooking. "Huh… but… but…"

The smile went wider on Oscar. "You only have to cut some vegetables. It isn't much."

Boyd agreed to this simple task; nothing was easier for him than cutting things, from hard logs to small vegetables.

Mina soon came back from the local market and brought some fresh meat along with her. "Here's for your stew, Oscar!"

"Thank you, Mina!" the older brother thanked. "Oh, by the way, Rolf is sleeping in your room. He looked exhausted."

"Ah, of course; it's his sleeping time."

"You could check up on him while Boyd and I are cooking supper. He looked slightly agitated without you, so let's hope he doesn't shift around on the bed too much."

"Oh yes, of course! I can't wait to taste your food, sweetie!"

Mina returned to her room with a skip in her step. Truthfully, she did not want to make supper, especially if she had to feed a chef better than her. Oscar let out a long, relieved sigh and turned to his little brother as he cut the meat into smaller pieces. "So, Boyd, tell me about life here."

For a moment, Boyd stopped with his vegetables. Confusedly, he started to scratch his head. "Huh? What do you mean?" he asked, stunned by this sudden serious demeanor coming from his older brother.

"How is life without me?"

The younger one hesitated, grasping for an answer. There was so much to talk about, but nothing managed to get out of his mouth during that instant. "Hmm… I don't know…"

"Dad, how is he?"

Finally, the conversation could start easier, since Boyd was so talkative about his father. "Well, Dad's working super hard, and recently, his friends and he caught an evil bandit who started attacking an old woman! He's still playing Master Edonio's servant and he's always tired. I think he's working too much!"

Oscar laughed a little before turning his attention on the meat. "That's really the same father I knew; always hardworking and strong. What about Mina?"

A slightly irritated expression drew up onto Boyd's face. "Mm, Mina… well, she's always the same, but she won't stop spoiling Rolf! She's ticking me off!"

The older brother kept his smile. "C'mon, I hope you realize you are nine now. Rolf's only one and half. It's normal for Mina to put more effort into taking care of someone as young as he, because Rolf can't take care of himself just yet. You can, Boyd." At that moment, Oscar took another long breath. "Well, you're still young, but you are old enough to do more and take on more responsibilities: you can speak, run, do housework, and take care of Rolf, to name a few."

"Hmph. But she won't let me do anything! Why can't I do anything without her yelling at me? It's been like that ever since Rolf got here!"

A little exhausted, Oscar scratched his head and set free another sigh. "You have to understand her. Mina always wanted to have her own child, and at long last, she finally has one." Even he could sometimes feel a bit of envy towards the small child, as he himself never had any kind of real mother, and the one he remembered was not even a caring one. As for Boyd, he was a little too young to remember that awful mother of his, but had always wanted to have one of his own. That was why he loved his father so much, to have such a loving and proud dad. Because he was his sole true parent, the boy decided to give him all the additional love he would have also given to his mother. Too bad he was always working…

"All right, finish chopping the vegetables. The water is boiling, and we must let them stew in it for a while." Oscar decided it was time to change the subject, even though he was the one to bring it up originally. Thinking of cooking never failed to reassure his own spirit, as it was one of his favorite past-times.

Boyd obeyed and cut the last onion in quarters. Oscar put everything in the hot pot and added his delicious spices while mixing everything frequently. After lowering the fire's intensity, he finally sat down around the table with his brother. "Say, it smells so great! When are we going to eat?" the boy asked impatiently, sniffing the air.

"In about an hour, I'd say. We must leave it on a low fire, or else everything will get stuck in the pot and burn."

The hour passed slowly, with Mina staying in her room to watch Rolf, who still slept deeply, and with the two brothers discussing their separate lives. Soon enough, a new call would cut their conversation. The older brother could feel a warm relief in his heart when he recognized this familiar voice. He got up quickly with open arms to the direction of the voice. "Dad!" he exclaimed, all up in emotion to see the best father he could ever have again, after so long.

Upon seeing the son he hadn't seen for a little over a year, the man suddenly forgot about his tiredness from work and warmly accepted his child in his arms. "Oscar! You're back!" After another hug, Nova gently pulled out his son away from him while keeping his hands on his shoulders. "Hey, you grew up a lot! You're becoming a fine man! I'm proud of you!"

"Thanks, Dad. It's so good to see you here again with everyone else!"

For one moment, his excitement went a little wild. Nova started to look around frenetically before turning to his eldest son. "Your horse? Your armor? Where are they? I must see them!"

Decidedly, his father's enthusiasm was a little strange to him; he never seen him that way before, especially not after a long day of work. Because he was so dumbfounded by this, his mouth stayed shut. Boyd answered for him instead. "Oh, Lass! She's in the backyard and Oscar put his armor in our room!"

The father's eyebrow rose up in confusion. "Lass?"

"It's Brother's mare!"

It was at this very moment that the man started laughing hysterically. "Haha! Lass, that's a good name for a young woman!" Soon, the smell of the marvelous stew invaded his nostrils. "Ah, it smells so good in here! Did you cook supper for tonight?"

The feeling of embarrassment overwhelmed Oscar a little before his father's overreacted enthusiasm. "Yeah, that's me…"

While the whole family rejoiced the return of their oldest child, Mina, on her side of things as she listened to all the merriment, felt a bit put aside from the rest, all forgotten…

----IamSICKinTHEtrainSNIFF----

"So, darling, are you ready for a wild night?"

"I don't know. I'm a little tired, you know…"

"But you're always tired!"

"Listen, Mina, working isn't easy…"

They were lying together on their bed. Mina was trying to get some 'alone' time with her husband, but Nova didn't seem to appreciate the idea quite as much as she. It wasn't uncommon to see such a scene between the two, but this night, mysteriously, Mina couldn't understand, or rather, refused to, very much like a child.

"But why? About an hour ago, you were ready to take _all your time_ to see your son in his armor, and now, you're resisting me? I don't understand! Am I not as important in your eyes, or what?"

Nova sighed slowly, trying to keep his calm before lowering his head. He spoke again, a little more lively this time. "Mina, please understand. I loved the life I had as a knight, protecting the country I love. It was, for me, the greatest life I could have ever wanted. I was searching for glory, and I got it. To see my son on his way to glory like that is like a great beam of energy, you know? Maybe we'll find that glory once again, the same one I lost…"

Even though the woman could understand his sentiments, she continued to sulk. Nova felt uneasy. For a while, any kind of discussion about the two sons that weren't hers brought skirmish between them. "Oh, so I really _don't_ count, then!" That was when she brought back the subject the man didn't want to hear at all, again. "It's that woman, isn't it? What was her name? Era… Eryne…?"

"Eryl…"

The woman continued with spiked rage. "That's it; Eryl!"

In fact, there was some truth in what the young woman was saying. Nova never openly spoke of Oscar's true mother, sans with his wife and a select few of the townsfolk who had once known her. He had indeed mentioned her name before his sons, but none of them guessed who she really was. To them, she was nothing more than an old partner and a good friend of his during his time with the Crimean army. Deep within him, the love he gave to her was still very strong. How his oldest son was starting to grasp at success in the kind of life he had always wanted to persevere in himself was giving him back his… life.

Wondering to himself, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to have spoken about that woman from the past, after all.

"You keep loving that dead woman, and I don't count anymore, that's it?"

The father cradled his head between his hands in exasperation. He still denied, in a sense, the death of his old wife, and hearing the combination of the words "dead" and "Eryl" could only deal great harm to his heart. "Yes, I still love her, but… I love you too, Mina, just as much as I once loved her…"

Unfortunately for him and for her, the woman could still notice a tinge of lies in his statement. She turned to the opposite direction of her husband, selfishly taking cover for herself. "Good night, Nova." She said simply with a dry voice.

For a moment, Nova could only stare into the emptiness, void of thought. Passing his hand through his tousled hair, he thought, "_I'm sorry, Mina… Everything is my fault… That is why… I'm not mad at you…_"

------------

Tomorrow, early morning, the three brothers were playing with the mare in front of the house. Oscar was wearing the armor and sitting on the mount per Boyd's request so everyone could see his awesomeness (even though there weren't many people up in town at this time of the day). How embarrassed the young knight in training was, but the younger brother was so proud to have such a sibling that he could crow about to others. Rolf didn't pay much attention to the whole scene save for the sake of the huge beast. He loved animals, and horses definitely didn't scare him at all.

Soon enough, an old couple noticed the three brothers in their little game. Curiously, both of the elderly citizens came to them with an enthusiastic eye. "Well, well, what a surprise, Boyd and Rolf!" the old man exclaimed with a gentle yet frightening smile, of which slightly spooked the young Rolf. They seemed to know the family, but could not recognize that mysterious young man in shining armor.

Boyd turned to them and returned the happy grin while Rolf stayed behind him, gripping his older brother's hands. Oscar let out a small laugh at the idea of his youngest brother having a fear of elders, but having absolutely no problem with gigantic beasts like his mare. "Hey! It's Mister Mathias and Miss Kinni!" Boyd greeted.

"So, would our little Boyd like to introduce us to this handsome young man in shining armor?" the old woman asked with humor playing in her tone. Truthfully, she would normally get shy in front of a true knight. It was quite rare to see people like him around here, far from the capital.

"Sure!" Boyd replied with a pretentious air, successfully raising his older brother's shyness a little more. "That's my big brother, Oscar! You don't know him 'cuz you moved in that house while he was training in the capital!"

So that was it- the old couple were their new neighbors. That was why Boyd seemed to know them. Oscar heard the short story of their neighbor's house before. Apparently, it became empty when its sole inhabitant, an old woman, died peacefully inside the home when he was still very small (he was so young he did not remember her).

To greet them back, the older brother sent them a smile. "Greetings, mister and milady!" he responded. "I am honored to meet you! As my brother already introduced me to you, I am Oscar. I am a knight in training from Melior."

"Ho, ho!" the old woman exclaimed, all pink. "A knight-in-training? But, my goodness, you don't look like one in training! You have the same bearing of a true knight! I am Kinni, and this is my husband, Mathias, the neighbors of your charming little brothers since… I'd say… oh, about a half a year!"

Minutes passed before them, and soon, Nova appeared, passing on his way to his work. His eyes almost glimmered when he saw his oldest son in his majestic costume impressive enough to give him chills. He approached everyone, trying to keep his head high. "Oscar, is it really you?" the father exclaimed, and then everyone turned to him. They could even see a discreet tear coming from his eyes.

Not too far from here, a young mother looked from afar all those happy people with their fun. Even though she was still joyful to see such warm scene, she would rather stay away from all of this, thinking of her last night. She wasn't sure if she would like to live happily with this little family anymore.

------------

Boyd decided to show his brother to his best friend, and, of course, Oscar did not reject the idea. He would be glad to meet this little girl his brother bragged about so much in his letters. Besides his father, he would never talk about someone with such eager pride. That Anna must be a wonderful child, and the fact that she too wanted to become a knight would make this a little more interesting.

"So, where is your famous little girlfriend?" Oscar asked as he was being dragged by his little brother into the city.

"Hey! She's not my girlfriend! Only my friend!" Boyd protested impertinently.

"Haha! You see a difference now? Since when?" the older one mocked.

"Since Mina told me! I saw a guy and a girl kissing in the park! That was disgusting!"

This made Oscar laugh.

Almost there, Boyd stopped in his tracks for a moment, and then returned to a subject that made the other brother sigh inwardly for perhaps the millionth time. "Brother! Why didn't you put your armor on?"

And once again, Oscar answered with the same boring smile. "You see, Boyd, like I told you about two minutes ago, it's embarrassing when you have all the eyes in town cast upon us."

"Bah! But I want everyone to know I have the best big brother in the whole world!"

"Well, I think the neighbors were quite enough…"

Finally, they arrived at their destination: the house of Anna. A young woman and a little girl were sweeping dust in front of the house. Boyd ran quickly to the other child, still dragging his brother with him. "Anna! Anna! Look who I brought!" the boy cried out proudly.

The two girls stopped and turned to the guys. "Boyd?" Confused, Anna took her mother's hand and hid behind her. The young mother stood straight up, and even without knowing the young man who was with her daughter's friend, she could guess immediately that he was indeed the older brother of the boy, easily recognizable by their hair color, which was very similar. "Who's that mister with you?" Anna asked in a small, mousy voice.

The word "mister" stroke Oscar like a frozen chill. It gave him a slightly older feel, but he wasn't that old, obviously. Still, he couldn't stop smiling at the thought of everyone besides his family calling him "mister".

"Miss! Anna! This is my big brother, Oscar!"

"W-Woah!" Anna exclaimed, slowly, leaving her mother's hand, finally. She approached the young man with a lot of admiration. "Is it really you, THE Oscar Boyd told me about? Woah! I'm so happy to finally have the chance to meet you!" Less shy all of a sudden, the girl caught one of Oscar's hands and shook it.

The young mother finally came to them with her lips curled up in a smile. She had never seen her daughter so excited, and it gave much happiness to her heart.

"Greetings, young lady!" Oscar greeted back. "You must be little Anna Boyd told me about. He said you were a really nice girl."

Quickly, the girl felt comfortable with his presence, so much that she began to speak without the slightest bit of tension. It almost seemed as though she had donned a new personality entirely. "Yes, I'm Anna! But are you sure you're a knight?" With these words, Boyd's smile pummeled and turned to make a revolted expression. The girl did not notice it and continued to laugh. "It's so funny how your eyes are pinched shut! You-"

Suddenly, she was cut by a violent whack across the backside of her head. "Anna! Why are you mocking this young knight?"

"_Oh no…_" the older brother thought. Once again, his slight handicap would become the main conversational topic right now. Unfortunately for him, this was just so.

Boyd started to yell. "What the… Anna! What's your problem? You better stop mocking my brother!" After these harsh words, Anna began to sob. The boy grabbed his brother's hand again to drag him in the opposite direction, towards their house with one furious step. "C'mon, Oscar! Let's go back!"

The little girl ran forward, but her mother held onto her firmly. "No! Boyd! Mister Oscar! I'm sorry! I didn't want to… I'm so sorry!"

As Boyd made another step, suddenly he couldn't pull the hand he was holding anymore; Oscar refused to budge altogether. The boy turned his head in his brother's direction, only to see an unusual expression on his face: authority. "Boyd…" Oscar started slowly, with a strict and even tone. "Come back here." Surprised by the older one's reaction, Boyd couldn't do anything else but obey with a little hesitation. Then, Oscar turned to the little girl, this time with his usual smile. It calmed the crying girl and surprised her mother.

"That's okay, Anna! I know you didn't want to make fun of me on purpose." He pronounced his last words as he stared strictly at his little brother, mostly for telling him that he was making a big deal over nothing. "I'm glad to have met you, Anna."

Anna sobbed again, this time with a lively grin. "Thank you, Mister Oscar!"

The girl's mother gently put a hand on her shoulder while looking in the young man's direction. She sent him back a smile to thank him from saving them from what could have possibly become a bad rest of the day because of this incident. As for Boyd, he was still indecisive about forgiving his friend, but seeing that everyone had done it already and that they were waiting on him to do so too, he bitterly decided to follow them. He held out his hand to her.

"All right, I'll forgive you…" the green haired child spat out resentfully, but Anna couldn't detect the hint of grudge in his words. This was, in fact, for the best.

The group of four returned to their fun discussing each other's lives and other such subjects, but suddenly, a mysterious man came from out of nowhere to cut their conversation short. Boyd immediately recognized the stepfather of his friend, though he was still unknown to Oscar. Truthfully, Boyd had never mentioned him in the letters. Noticing the sudden sulky attitude his little brother showed toward the man who appeared, the older brother realized the man might not be as good as he thought.

"Hey, hey! What are you up to, guys? Are you starting a party without me?" the man proclaimed with a humoristic tone, though Boyd didn't react at all.

Oscar sighed at his brother and gave a smile and a hand to the other man who seemed to be about the same age as Anna's mother. "Greetings to you, Mister! I presume you are the father of this charming little girl?"

The man started to laugh. "Haha! I wish I was! I'm this lovely mother's husband, and my name is Dan. I'm pleased to meet you… hmm… Mister Mystery?"

It was then that Anna began to jump in excitement. "Yup!" she exclaimed. "This is Dan, my stepdad! Hey, say, Mister Oscar, maybe you could have a duel with Dan, no? Since you are a training knight!"

Both of the brothers were confused, the mother slapped her own forehead at the thought, and Dan sighed. "Listen, Anna, I didn't even get the chance to meet this young sir; give me more time."

Anna started to calm down a little, faking her innocence. She finally added, "Dan was a halberdier in Begnion before! He knows how to fight!"

In fact, Anna's stepfather had worked for Begnion's imperial central army, but decided to leave his post when he noticed the obvious corruption emanating from the senators of the country. To avoid the shame from his family for leaving the army without a word, he settled in Crimea where, as he got told, the society seemed to be much more unrestricted than the rest of the countries. The man smiled, seeing how the daughter of his wife spoke so proudly of him in front of that unknown young man, who he presumed to be named "Mister Oscar", like how Anna called him.

"Yeah, that's true. I do know how to fight!" Dan sniggered, gently patting the girl's head. "But don't forget that I was a true soldier, not a training one like this young man here!"

"There he goes again…" Boyd thought to himself, still sulky.

Without knowing what to do, Oscar simply raised his shoulder with embarrassment. He didn't want to fight at the moment, not during the time he was coming to his hometown for a peaceful break with his family, and especially not against a man who didn't seem to hold much respect. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm on a vacation, so maybe another day…" he revealed shyly.

"Ah! Please!" Anna insisted. It was then Boyd decided to intervene again.

"Shut your mouth, Anna! If he doesn't want to, he doesn't want to, and that's that! Don't force him!"

Horrified, the girl covered her mouth in shame and hid behind her mother, who decided to stay silent with a remorseful look. Seeing that, Oscar made a long sigh before turning to the family with a small embarrassed smile. To make it end, he said, "All right, well, I'm glad to have met you all. We'll see each other again another time, I guess…" Then, he walked away after sending them a sympathetic hand, humiliated to be the indirect cause of the whole trouble.

Boyd was still with the family. He felt bad for talking so harshly to his friend. As he was about to give her a real forgiveness, Dan cut everyone. "Bah, is that really him, that training knight of Crimea I keep hearing about? He looks like a sissy…"

A sudden rage took over the young boy. "What?" he exclaimed angrily, appalled by these maddening words.

"No, but it's true! Just look at his eyes and that posture!"

Both of the kid's fists were firmly closed and trembling out of fury. Fuming, he whirled around to face the man with a wild cry. "Damn it, Dan, what's your damn problem, you…! Who do you think you are? No one calls my brother a sissy! You make me sick, seriously!" After that, Boyd disappeared too, rejoining his brother.

The young mother and the girl were at a complete loss for words, not expecting such fury to come from the boy. Dan only let out a small, snobby "Pah!"

----IsleepNOTmuchSNIFF----

Mina heard someone knocking at the door. She went to open it and got quite the sad surprise to see Boyd's friend behind it, her head bowed down with an apologetic look marking her features.

"Hey there, Anna!" The young woman greeted the child with a smile, trying in vain to cheer her up.

"H-Hi, Miss Mina…" her voice was so sad that the sound she was making was as audible as a soft wind. "Sniff… I'm coming to see Boyd and Mister Oscar. I… need to apologize..."

The young woman gave her an amiable pat on the head to reassure her. "Oh yeah, I heard about that story. Don't worry about it. You can come in; they are in the backyard with baby Rolf."

In the air, hanging in the hands of his oldest brother, the small baby boy began to laugh hysterically with delight. Lying down on the ground, Oscar and Boyd looked to the great blue sky above, talking a little. The middle brother turned to the older one. "Hey, brother! You still haven't lost touch with Rolf!"

Oscar sent him back that smile. "Well, that's obvious." he replied, jokingly. "You were a very difficult baby! I've had more than enough practice."

The boy gave him an elbow kick to the side. "Hey! That's not true!"

But soon, a little voice stopped their tranquility. "Boyd, Mister Oscar…"

His eyes pointed on the sky, Boyd could see the head of his friend Anna. Immediately, the boy jumped from the ground and faced her with furrowed brows. "What? Anna! What are you doing here? Go home and play with your pathetic dad!" He put much more emphasis on the word "pathetic" than necessary.

Though she was surrounded by her own sadness, Anna raged. "That's not my dad!"

"Then stop calling Mina my mom!"

A hand landed on the boy's shoulder. "Boyd, calm yourself," Oscar told him firmly, and Boyd obeyed promptly. Satisfied with his little brother's move, he turned to the girl, this time with a smile. "C'mon, Anna, I'm sure you have something to tell us."

Once again, all the pressure disappeared as she felt eased around the young man. "Thank you, Mister Oscar! I'm coming to… apologize for what happened with Dan. I know he wasn't nice, and I feel really bad for this…"

While he was replacing Rolf in his arms, Oscar replied "And apologies accepted. You are a very courageous girl to come and apologize for your stepfather." It was then that Boyd lowered his head in shame. He already knew the girl came here to say sorry about the whole mess, but his anger had taken over everything. He was wondering how his brother could so easily keep calm, even though everything seemed to be pitted against him. "You have nothing to do with Dan, so don't feel bad for what he has done; it's not your fault, okay?"

Anna could finally grin, even through her tears. She was relieved now. "Thanks a lot, Mister… It's just that… Dan is a part of my family now…"

Suddenly, Boyd felt a chill run through his veins. Because of those last words, he remembered the first time he saw Dan, the very same day when he explained Anna how Dan could be a part of her family without replacing her late father, though that was before he knew his true nature. He regretted speaking good about who he thought could have been a good man. How wrong he was!

* * *

_I ended the story here because it was getting long! And the chapter was a little boring to my taste. Mostly cute stuff, anyway. _:p_ So Dan isn't a nice stepfather, after all! And Mina… poor Mina for being emo-ish. Next chapter is going to have little more joy, at last!_

_Thank you for reading!_


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